Life Is Strange After the Storm Episode 1 Resurgence
by WickDaLine
Summary: After the hardest decision Max has ever made in her life by leaving a great town destroyed just to save her friend Chloe one last time, they both make way for Max's home in Seattle to seek refuge. Although there are survivors, Max will soon learn that the storm was just the beginning.
1. Out of Town

Previously on Life is Strange...

"You don't know who the fuck I am or who you're messing with!", shouted Nathan instantly gripping his gun from his pocket aiming it towards Chloe.

"Get that gun away from me you psycho!", Chloe shouted back with her last words before taking a bullet to the stomach.

"No!", Max panicked as time slowed down as the girl with the blue hair collapsed to the floor and as Max waved her hand in front of her. Suddenly, Max miraculously reversed her time lapse from back before her photography class ended. _"What the fuck?!"_

As Max hit the ground on the parking lot, a truck suddenly stopped in front of her almost running her over. She gripped herself on the hood of the truck to see the girl she saved from getting shot in the restroom driving it. "Max!"

"Chloe, I am so glad to see you," Max said to her friend giving her a ride in her truck.

"Welcome back, Max," Chloe said.

When Max had reached the light house as the winds blew, she saw a very large twister on the horizon headed toward her home town of Arcadia Bay. Suddenly, a boat being blown away from the winds of the twister hit the lighthouse being crushed in half by the impact causing the top to collapse right where Max stood standing.

"I didn't black out," said Max. "I had another vision. The town is going to get wiped out by a tornado."

"Max, start from the beginning," said Chloe.

"What are you doing here Max," asked Kate before falling to her doom.

"Kate, this is our chance to beat the bullies," said Max stopping her friend from attempted suicide on the roof. "That's the only way we can win against them." Max hugged Kate tightly having successfully stopped her friend from dying.

"Why does everyone in my life let me down," Chloe asked herself driving Max back to Blackwell. "My Dad gets killed. You bail on me for years. My Mom gloms onto Step-Fucker. Now Rachel betrays me. Everyone pretends to care until they don't. Even you."

"Chloe Price," Max began. "You better take that back. Right now."

"Max, if I had you power, I would go back and change everything. Everything!"

"Rachel," Chloe sobbed shocked to see her friend buried in the junkyard. "On no, Rachel. Please, not her!"

"I'm sorry, Chloe," Max apologized for the loss of her friend.

"I loved her so much! How can she be dead! What kind of world does this!"

"This is my storm," Max admitted over-watching the tornado closing into the town. "I caused this. I caused all of it. I've changed fate and destiny so much, I've actually altered the course of everything. All really created was just death and destruction."

"Max," Chloe began as she grabbed the butterfly photo from her pocket. "This is the only way."

"I feel like I took this shot a thousand years ago."

"Max, you finally came back to me this week and showed me nothing more but your love and friendship. And you made me smile and laugh like I haven't done in years."

"Chloe, I can't make this choice!"

"No, Max. Only you can. Max, it's time."

"Not anymore," Max said doing away with the photo by tearing it for good.

"Max, I'll always be with you."

"Forever."

Chapter 1 Out of Town

 _Please, don't kill us, Max! Why did you get rewind powers? You don't even know how to use them. How would you like to spend the rest of your life in my dark room? You should've never come back, Max._ _Your the real storm, Max._ _Get that gun away from me you psycho! BANG!_

Max gasped waking up from her nightmare being passed out in Chloe's truck leaving Arcadia Bay. She turned to her left seeing her partner in crime/time still driving.

"Max," Chloe asked with concern. "You okay?"

"Just a bad dream," Max sighed. "How long was I out? Where are we?"

"Portland. We've only been driving for three hours."

Max took a look at her phone for the time and it read 11:10 AM. Max could never let go of her love life as she would never let go of her home town. After everything her and Chloe did all this week, after all the life risking and sacrifices she made for herself playing a dangerous from the day she first acquired her powers up until now in attempt to have closure on behalf of the mystery of Rachel Amber, she was speechless. Max could've have imagined what it would've been like if she actually had thrown her friend's life away not only sparing more people in her town, but derailing every memory she set up for her true relationship no matter how real they would've been to her and her only. Would Chloe still had know she cared? Would she had died a true friend? How hard would it had been if Max had jumped back to the day when Nathan was supposed to put a bullet in Chloe's stomach? Hard enough to be consumed by the greatest loss that could've happened to her she thought. Hard enough to place the heaviest burden she would've brought on herself. The question was, did she choose her sacrifice wisely? If someone such as the Coast Guard or National Guard were to come by Arcadia Bay, could someone have survived? The two of them could've have preposterously been the soul survivors of the incident Max had thought to herself. There was just no way.

"If we're gonna be out of town, we should probably find somewhere to stay for the night," Max suggested. "Maybe we can stay at my parents house in Seattle."

"You want us to travel that far out of the state?" Chloe asked.

"Why not. It's the only place I know where it hasn't been bombarded by a twister. Maybe we can spend the night at a motel or something incase we can't make it that far today."

"We got to get gas anyways. This truck doesn't have the best mileage in the world, but if we're gonna get as far as Seattle, we're going to need a full tank to get us there."

Chloe turned to her girlfriend still depressed about what she chose. She knew it couldn't have been easy choosing between sacrificing her life let alone the lives of Arcadia Bay. She knew that perhaps her of all people in town deserved to live as much as herself and she almost felt bad about making her friend almost throw her life all away.

"Listen, Max," Chloe began tempting to say something to make Max feel better. "Thank you."

"Chloe," Max began. "It feels like we lived a thousand lives this week. But you know what, as long as we're together, I don't feel afraid."

The two of them gave each other a brief smile as they continued their way down in Portland and stopped at the nearest gas station. Chloe pulled over next to a gas pump as she got out to fill her vehicle up and Max got out to hang around outside the vehicle. Max leaned against the truck still thinking about every event that occurred between her and her bluenette friend. Chloe inserted the gas pump to her gas tank.

 _"Well, Max, what have you done? What was the real purpose for these powers? Were they meant to create or to destroy? Was that storm really my fault or did it in someway come to town to make me look bad? At least Chloe is grateful to be alive now that this is her fate. A fate I made for herself. Like John Connor always said in the Terminator franchise. 'The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.'"_

Max felt her phone bleep in her pocket. She reached for it seeing her mother texted her.

 **Mom: OMG Max! We saw the news! Are you okay?!**

 **Max: Yes, mom. I'm fine! I'm with my friend Chloe and we just got out of town. We just stopped at a gas station in Portland.**

 **Mom: Oh thank goodness! We thought we lost you!**

 **Max: Did the news mention any survivors?**

 **Mom: As far as I can tell, they did show us survivors scattered around the streets being rescued. Including a few survivors at Two Wales Diner. I believe one of them is Chloe's mother Joyce.**

 **Max: Thx!**

"Chloe, they survived!"

"What?"

"My Mom just texted me saying they're survivors. Including your mother!"

"Really?!"

"Yes, really!"

"Shit, I better let Mom know where we are!" Chloe grabbed her phone to shoot her mother a text.

 _"Talk about Irony, Max. You save your friend and what does that get you? It gets half the town killed but with the other half alive and well. Especially the other people in this world that care about Chloe. Just like saving Kate on the rooftop. Just like saving William only to see your friend become a wreck. Just like uncovering the truth about Rachel. Irony."_

Chloe finished texting her mother as the gas pump finished filling up her truck. "Oh, this is great news. What a relief."

"What's a relief," Max asked.

"Mom said she's safe and sound with Frank and Warren as well as my Step-Dad."

"Wowsers, that is a relief. Where was David the whole time?"

"At the police station. Checking up on Jeffershit. The man who drugged you and killed Rachel." Chloe sighed. "If it were up to me, I could've put a hole through his heart like how I almost did with Frank. Only I'd be more satisfied and not heartbroken."

"Chloe, you'd be no different from Jefferson or Nathan and since it wasn't up to you, you'd be breaking the law."

"I'm gonna go pay for the gas," said Chloe disconnecting the gas pump and walking up to the counter.

Another text bleeped from Max's phone. It was Warren.

 **Warren: Max, where'd u go?**

 **Max: Me and Chloe left town and we're staying over in Portland. I txt u 3 times to take shelter but they failed to deliver.**

 **Warren: I did take shelter. Me, Joyce, Frank, and his dog had to stay under the basement at the diner. Where were u and Chloe?**

 **Max: We were at the lighthouse over-watching the storm. It was horrible. What's the situation there now?**

 **Warren: Its shit is what it is. The national guard just came by to help survivors. Paramedics are taking care of the wounded and they're placing the ones that didn't make it in body bags. Countless people can't even live in their own homes because of what happened.**

 **Max: Me and Chloe are going to try and stay over at my parents' house in Seattle. We'll have a better time there.**

 **Warren: I think me and my family are gonna stay somewhere else for a little while too. Take care.**

 **Max: U2**


	2. Breaking News

Chapter 2 Breaking News

Later that night, Max and Chloe found themselves a motel room in Portland. Max stayed in while Chloe went down street to grab themselves some food at a Quick-Mart. Max lied down on the bed in the room her and Chloe had rented for a day. She was watching television while Chloe was out and kept changing the channel until she saw that her favorite animated science fiction film 'Final Fantasy The Spirits Within' was on Sy-Fy. Max really enjoyed the film and decided to watch it for a bit. That's when Chloe had come back with food from the Quick-Mart.

"Hey, Mad Max," said Chloe walking through the door with food. "Got ourselves a pizza and some sodas." Chloe carried a small box of pizza with a plastic bag of soda bottles in her hands.

"God, am I starving," said Max. "I feel like I hadn't eaten in a century or two."

Chloe put the food down on the bed Max was laying down on and she sat next to the young photographer to eat their pizza, drink their sodas, and watch television.

"So," Chloe began with her mouth full of pizza. "You still depressed about how this crazy week ended?"

"Well," Max answered swallowing her food. "I kinda actually feel better about not remotely wiping out the entire population but rather a portion of it. I started feeling like a terrorist since we left."

"Max," Chloe began with her mouth empty. "I was wrong about what I said before. I deserve to live as much as everyone else. But sometimes, you just can't save everyone. People can die even though they don't deserve it. Even me. You were more than capable of saving me multiple times, as well as saving others in town. For instance, you stopped Kate's suicide. You stopped me from shooting Frank. Perhaps you gave me and family an opportunity, as well. My Step - my Step-Dad and my mom deserve me alive. This is my fate now, Max. Because of you and your power, it didn't just make the two of us invincible, it made you my hero as well as everyone's hero we all could've wished for."

"You're right, Chloe. I can't save everyone. Sometimes, it's never about how many lives you save. It's about what your capable of when you have to save somebody. I was this close. This close to flushing out everything I did to keep you alive this week down the piss and shit pipes. But, I just didn't have the nerve to do so. Who am I to throw that all away? As much as everyone deserves better than to be killed by storm, you most certainly deserve a whole lot better than a bullet in your body. You have no idea how much your death would've meant to me. If I wanted to, I'd rather die with you than live without you. I couldn't save William from that car wreck just so you could have a better life. We couldn't save Rachel from being OD'd by Nathan and my psychotic photography teacher. That's shitty enough. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I couldn't agree more, Max. I couldn't. I should've never had let you use that photo. Even I never wanted my life taken for everyone else's any more than you didn't. You just had me too worried you were gonna actually pull it off. I didn't know what else to think. It goes back to what I told. Whatever you chose, I knew you'd make the right decision. From my point of view, the choice you made was more than the right decision understanding you'd regret the other choice more. Not for everyone's greater good, but perhaps our greater good. I don't even know what else to say. You swore that I'll always be you partner in crime."

"As long as your my partner in time," Max said finishing her slice of pizza. "You know, if I hadn't moved away from you five years ago, maybe I wouldn't have had a reason for my power or something. But you know what, there was a person there for you when you needed me the most. Rachel was there for you when I wasn't and now I'm here for you now that Rachel isn't. If I had let you die that day, in death, you would have nothing left redeem yourself for even if you could see William and Rachel again. Even I could save more people for the right reasons. Without my power I wouldn't had given anyone the opportunity towards redemption. Now you've got a reason to call me Super-Max."

"I've always called you Super-Max. Powers or no powers, you were always like a superhero to me. A superhero from Marvel or DC."

"You think I'd make a good superhero in the Marvel or DC universe?"

"I sorta thought that you might make a hella Avenger in Marvel than a Justice League member in DC with your rewind powers."

"Tell that to Stan Lee."

"Nuff said," Chloe spoke in a funny Stan Lee impression. The two of them chuckled. They finally had something amusing to say after changing the subject from serious to hilarious. Suddenly, a news broadcast came on the television they were watching interrupting the channel.

 _"We interrupt this program for some breaking news with quick update on the Arcadia Bay incident."_

As the news anchor spoke, the television showed shots of the Arcadia Bay ruins and the National Guard helping the town.

 _"As authorities continue to help the wounded and homeless, casualties have been estimated to over 600 out of the population of 1300._

 _"600 out of 1300 people killed in Arcadia Bay,"_ Max thought to herself. _"Wowsers. That makes 600 people that I could've saved by giving Chloe's life away. That's just about half the population I just killed off. It doesn't even matter anymore. Like you said Max_ , _it isn't always about how many lives you can save. It's about what you're capable of when it comes to lifting a finger for someone that needs life saving."_

The news showed shots of the wounded being treated by paramedics and the deceased harvested in body bags.

 _"Hundreds of citizens not only suffer from their losses of their loved ones that never made it through the storm,"_ the news anchor continued. _"but also the damage of public property and their homes."_

The news then showed people in Arcadia Bay being interviewed about the incident. The fisherman that Max had saved from getting electrocuted appeared on screen.

 _"I was trapped in a room that caught on fire and then I was soon saved by this girl from getting my ass struck by electricity."_

Then Alyssa Anderson, another girl at Blackwell who Max had been saving all week from getting picked on, was being interviewed, too.

 _"My friend Max had always held my hand when I was being picked on at school and then she helped me down from a ledge when the storm hit."_

Then Officer Barry from ABPD got interviewed.

 _"We get tornados every 20 years or so in this state, but this...this is by far the worst that's ever happened than anything I've ever seen by far."_

 _"Well,"_ Max thought to herself, _"at least I managed to do a little saving others than just Chloe."_

 _"In other news,"_ the anchor continued, _"former photography teacher; Mark Jefferson of Blackwell Academy High School, convicted of multiple kidnappings and felonies, had been sentenced to death row at Oregon State Penitentiary awaiting for execution."_

"That's the least that fucker Jeffershit deserves for killing Rachel," said Chloe.

 _"We will have more on this story as it progresses. We now return to your regularly scheduled program."_

The television resumed to the channel Max and Chloe were watching. Chloe turned to her friend after hearing all the good and bad news.

"Well," Chloe sighed. "Now that the town is being aided by the National Guard and Jeffershit's been brought to justice, I'm gonna have a shower. You want in?"

"Say what," asked Max.

"Come on. We're old enough to take a shower together. As I said before, you can take chances wherever and whenever you want to. So what do you say?"

 **X/SQUARE - SHOWER WITH CHLOE**

 **B/CIRCLE - DON'T SHOWER WITH CHLOE**

"Okay. Why not? Whenever your ready."

"Alright, I'll start getting undressed in the bathroom. Don't keep me waiting."


	3. Across the Border

Chapter 3 Across the Border

 _Max and Chloe were undressed and got into the shower together naked. Chloe cuddled behind Max as water ran across their bodies and wet their hair. Max turned to her girlfriend giving her a smile as she smiled back. Max turned to her side with her eyes forward as she felt Chloe's hands rub on her skin. Then Max felt something strange. The hands that she felt no longer felt like Chloe's. They felt like a man's hands were now touching her._

 _"Max," a male's voice said. Max turned slowing and instantly gasped immediately panicking as she saw the man who once drugged her and shot Chloe in front of her naked in the shower with her. He gripped Max by the arm holding a needle as she stared at him in horror. This was almost like Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho'. Max was the victim. The man was the killer._

 _"Hello Max," Jefferson said with water spraying on him. "We got work to do."_

Max awoke with a gasp with the alarm clock going off. Max hit the alarm clock to shut it off. _"Jesus Christ! Another damn nightmare!"_ Max calmed herself. Chloe woke up with a stretch and a yawn. She turned to Max seeing her hand cover her face.

"Hey, you okay," she asked.

"No," Max replied, "I'm not okay, actually."

"That dream again, wasn't it?"

"I have different dreams every time I pass out and they're all dreams about what I fear the most."

"Max, you can get through this. I know you can."

Max took her hand off her face and stared down still traumatized by her nightmare. She remembered how bazaar it was going through a fear landscape of her sins before the storm passed and when she passed out being carried by her girlfriend up to the lighthouse. Could her nightmares get any worse?

"You know," Chloe began, "I used to have nightmares about my Father signing his death warrant the day he last walked out that door. You were also in my nightmares, too. They were always nightmares of abandonment. I've had them since before David married my Mom. Then when Rachel came into my life, she was there for me to make me feel better. Even if she had hooked up with Frank, I know she still cared. I know nobody tried to let me down on purpose. When we found her body in the junkyard, I knew I still cared. I still had feelings for her. Maybe I could've forgiven her somewhat.

Max looked at her phone and the time read 8:05 AM. It was time to get up and hit the road.

"Let's go," Chloe said patting Max on the shoulder. "We got a long road ahead of us to Seattle. We can grab a snack or two for the road." Chloe got off the bed and changed to her jacket and tank-top.

A text message opened on Max's phone. It was from her Mother.

 **Mom: Max, where are u now?**

 **Max: We just got up. We're gonna be back on the road now. We should be there by this evening.**

 **Mom: OK. Get here safe. See you tonite!**

 **Max: U2!**

3 hours later...

Max and Chloe were now on the highway to Seattle. The city was less than 200 miles from where they were currently driving. Along the way, Max had told stories to Chloe about her time in Seattle. Explained to her the reason why she couldn't have too much time to call her or whatnot. Told her about how she liked living in Seattle and how it was the perfect place to achieve her dream photography career.

"And then, Dad said, 'Well Vanessa, now that there aren't any classes for Max to accomplish her future career, where can Max go now,'" said Max continuing her story of Seattle. "Then, my Mom says, 'Well, Ryan, we could send Max back to Arcadia Bay.' My Dad says, 'What? You want us to send our daughter back to Oregon? Where there's no one to feed her, drive her, or even a place to live?' Mom says, 'There's Blackwell Academy where they offer dorms. We know the place well. We went to school there when we were teens. There maybe a photography class there for her.' And that's what made me come back."

"So, you come back to Arcadia Bay for photography," said Chloe. "That I understand. Did you ever plan on trying to see me again before Nathan threatened and assaulted me in that bathroom?"

"Chloe, so much can happen in five years. I barely even recognized who you were when I first witnessed that scenario. I thought about it, just never knew how. It had been a decade since we last saw each other."

"I almost didn't even recognize you either when we first reunited. Until, I noticed those eyes and that face, that is."

Max's phone bleeped again revealing another text message from Warren.

 **Warren: Max, Principal Wells is offering sanctuary at Blackwell for anyone who can't move out anywhere else. The national guard is going to aid for people there. Me n my family plan on staying there.**

 **Max: Well that's great news.** **Know anyone else who's going?**

 **Warren: There are some friends of ours who are going. My girlfriend Brooke is coming. Kate just got outta the hospital. She is shocked to see what happened, but she's lucky to see her family again. I know that they'll be staying.**

 **Max: What about Victoria?**

 **Warren: Victoria's fine. She is still able to go that convention in San Francisco for winning that contest. She'll also be staying when she gets back from her trip.**

 **Max: How bout Nathan?**

 **Warren: Not sure what's up with Nathan. Haven't seen him since I kicked his ass earlier this week.**

 **Max: Take care.**

 **Warren: U2**

"Warren just text me saying Principal Wells is gonna provide sanctuary at Blackwell."

"Sanctuary? At Blackwell?"

"Yeah. That's what he said."

"Well, I sure hope my Mom and David can still be able to take care of themselves now."

"Wasn't David a veteran? You think the National Guard could offer him a place to help?"

"He was an Afghan vet. It would be nice of them if they could."

Max's phone bleeped again with a text from her father.

 **Dad: Max, where are you and Chloe at now?**

 **Max: We just got out of Portland a couple hrs ago. We're coming across the border. We still got another 200 miles left. We should be at the house by 5 or 6.**

 **Dad: K. Your mother and I are gonna save u and Chloe some dinner incase you make it in time.**

 **Max: Thx dad. See u tonite.**

 **Dad: And u.**

 **Max: BTW, my principle at blackwell is making sanctuary for the people in Arcadia Bay who can't move out anywhere else with help from the national guard.**

 **Dad: Interesting. Almost forgot. Chloe's parents called and said they plan on visiting us here too. They said they'll be here in 2 days.**

 **Max: Thx for da info. One again, see u tonite!**

 **Dad: Get here safe!**

"My Dad just text me saying your parents are coming over, too."

"They are?"

"Yeah, they are."

"Huh, well, I just hope David can get to know your parents as well as my Mom does."

"I sure hope so, too."

As the two of them continued driving down the highway to Seattle, they had finally come across the border and passed a build board saying:

 **Welcome**

 **to**

 **Washington**

 **The Evergreen State**

"Well, we made it past the border," said Chloe. "Can't wait to see you parents again." Chloe turned to her girlfriend still looking a little down. "So, what's on your mind, Max? When we get to Seattle, what should we do when we're at your parents house?"

"My parents are saving us some super for when we get there. We can spend some time in my room and watch something on Netflix with my TV set." Max sighed. "I'm still thinking about how shitty it must be for everyone back in Arcadia."

"Don't worry about Arcadia, Max. We'll have our brains more occupied on Seattle than back home."

"Chloe, sometimes I wonder, how did I even get my powers to begin with? Why did I even need them from the get-go? It's like my powers want to teach me something."

"Like what?"

"Like - like maybe that I can't save everyone on this planet. Like maybe teach me the struggle between opportunity and obligation. Like maybe keep my friends close, but family closer. Better yet, keep my friends close and my enemies closer. When I came across the truth about Jefferson, I realized that Nathan was just a red-haring. Everything pointed to him being a puppet."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that he never plotted to murder Rachel or drug Kate. He was being manipulated by Jefferson. I came across that when I was kidnapped."

"So, Nathan was Jeffershit's lapdog or something?"

"Yeah. Hell, something even tells me that there was more to that storm than just the inhabitants of my powers. I first foresaw it Monday morning in class before we got back together. Before I even withheld my powers. There's got to be something we don't know about."

"Such as?"

"When we first discovered the dark room under the barn, it supplied with food rations and medicine. It was even built and distributed by Sean Prescott. Nathan's Father. Somehow, my theory is that Jefferson and the Prescotts knew about the storm. They knew the day was coming as well as I did."

"Okay, so, how would Jeffershit and his alliance with the Prescotts have any connection with the storm?"

"I don't know. But however they're connected, I could've been their scapegoat or something. You could've been their scapegoat, too. That's one of the reasons I couldn't risk sacrificing yourself for nothing. Whether you lived or died that day, the storm would've been just as inevitable as your pre-rendered death. I just don't trust the storm was about time attempting to kill you off constantly."

Max and Chloe took a moment of silence. Chloe began to concur with Max's theory. It just didn't sound fair for the both of them to confront a retribution for defying time and space. Chloe had a right to live. A right to be with her friend longer. A right to continue their legacy together that had aborted five years from then. It was more than true Chloe had been Max's top priority that she had all the rights to. To never see her die another day. Because of Max's power, they both shared a great bond. Because of Max's power, they both thought they could be invincible. Max would be damned if she had to see Joyce bury both her first husband and daughter on a five year gap, let alone push forward with her life in a world where there's no 'Hella' that equals to her 'Wowser' if not for her power.

"Chloe," Max began, "There's something I need to say."

"I'm listening," replied Chloe.

"During the storm, when I was passed out, I had a very bazaar nightmare. Almost as if it were a fear landscape. It started with me being in my photography class again last Monday. Jefferson was in my dream and asked me if I'd enjoy the rest of my life in his dark room and made me say something I know I wouldn't. I walk out of class and everything goes in reverse. Then I'm in the dormitory filled with those missing posters of Rachel and I see Kate. She tells me she would've rather died escaping her problems than live rotting in a hospital wing. Then I'm in the dark room where Jefferson held me captivated. First, I see you and Jefferson doing photo-shoot. Then, I see you hooking up with Warren, then with Nathan, then with Victoria. And then, I'm in the diner filled with everyone we know in town and I come across talking to another self of mine. Lastly, I walk through a diorama of everything we did this week up until now. God." Max covered her face. "I don't even know what else to say."

"Max, don't break down on me now. Whatever that nightmare was about, it wasn't real. Whatever it tried to tell you, it was only telling you what it wanted you to believe. It was trying to break you. The nightmares I used to have after my Dad passed on...pfff. Boy, did they get worse and worse every night. My Mom and Rachel were there for me to grow out of it and eventually they died down. Since Monday afternoon, you even helped me destroy my fear. I'd do whatever it takes to return the favor."

Max uncovered her face and turned to Chloe giving her a brief smile and she smiled back. Knowing her girlfriend was right. There had been a certain irony towards opportunity and obligation within every choice Max had made that week. The irony of saving Kate, re-imagining the best of both worlds with William alive and dead, uncovering the mystery behind Rachel, and now Max and Chloe's love life everlasting. Irony can be a powerful word, a powerful thing, a powerful ally. This Max did.


	4. Welcome to Seattle

Chapter 4 Welcome to Seattle

6 hours later...

"Max, wake up," said Chloe shaking Max's shoulder.

Max instantly opened her eyes from passing out. "Wha? Did I sleep again? What is it?"

"Look! We're here!"

Max's eyes were wide open staring at what she was seeing with amazement. Like she staring at the Emerald City. There it was. Seattle. "Wowsers."

Within ten miles from the city, the two of them could see the Space Needle with skyscrapers surrounding it. Max's home away from home was an incredible sight. It had only been a month since Max moved back to Arcadia Bay and how she's back to her land of photography.

"Hell fucking amazing, isn't it," exclaimed Chloe. "Never been to such big wonder of the world like this before."

"Chloe, welcome to my photography wonderland."

Max looked at her phone and it read 5:29 PM. She had been out for quite some time. They kept driving onto the freeway until they found the nearest exit into the city. Max gave Chloe directions to her house in the neighborhood her parents lived in. Chloe had to drive across downtown through traffic, streetlights, and electronic build-board ads. Driving across downtown was like being in Max and Chloe's favorite classic si-fi movie from the eighties made by Ridley Scott starring Harrison Ford, 'Blade Runner'.

It was going on 6 pm and eventually the two them made it to the residential area. After hours of driving, they reached their destination. Chloe parked her truck on the driveway coming to a complete stop.

"Well, end of the line, Maxi-Pad," said Chloe." Come on. Let's go see your parents." Max and Chloe got out of the truck and up to the front door. Max rang the doorbell. The door opened with Ryan seeing the two of them at the doorstep.

"Hey, hey, Max!"

"Dad!" Max gave her Father a big hug.

"Good to see you again." Ryan then turned to Chloe seeing how much she'd changed over the past five years. "Chloe, is that you?"

"Yo," said Chloe giving Ryan the piece sign.

"Wow, so much can occur in five years," Ryan admitted giving Chloe a hug. "It's good to see you too, Chloe."

"Great seeing you again, as well, Ryan."

"Come inside. Your Mother's waiting for the both of you, Max."

Ryan let the both of them in. Max could hear her Mother's voice across the hallway.

"Is that our little girl I hear, Ryan," Vanessa called from down the hall.

"The one and only, Vanessa," replied Ryan. "And she brought an old friend along the way."

Vanessa gasped at her daughter seeing Max and Chloe both on sight. "Max, sweetheart!"

"Mom!" Max gave her Mother a hug as tight as she hugged her Father. Vanessa turned to Chloe. Seeing how much she'd changed, as well.

"Well, look at you, Chloe," said Vanessa. "How lovely to see you here."

"Right back at ya, Vaness," Chloe said to Vanessa giving her a hug.

"You sure have changed a lot since we left Arcadia." Vanessa remembered she was preparing supper for all of them. "Dinner's almost ready. I'll be sure to make the two of you a plate."

It was 6:15 PM. Vanessa had made Meatloaf and Sweet-Potatoes. Max, her parents, and Chloe all sat down at the Dinner table in the Dining Room enjoying the supper Vanessa had made.

"Mm, I thought my Mom was the best cook," said Chloe chewing her food. "My mother should get a taste of this."

"Oh, Chloe," Vanessa chuckled. "Your mother always thought as you did. I appreciate the compliment."

"So, Max," Ryan began. "How's school?"

"It's alright, I guess," Max replied. "My current GPA is at a 2.8. Doing my best to get it up to a 3.0. Got one A, three Bs, and two Cs. I'm liking all my classes except for Math. I really enjoyed Photography until we all discovered the teacher in that class was a cereal killer. As you may have heard."

"Yeah," said Vanessa. "We heard about that. Sounds awful. That man of all people. A cereal killer."

"I know. I did have a few issues in that class however. Every time I thought I knew the answer to a question the teacher would ask me, I really didn't. There's also this popular girl at school named Victoria who's on a high honor roll and always knew the answer to every question in that class. She's just as devoted into photography as I am."

"How 'bout you, Chloe," Ryan asked. "What's your story?"

"I'm not gonna lie to you," Chloe sighed. "My life has been train-wreck since my Dad passed away. Not to long after you moved away, my Mom married my Step-Dad, David and boy did we make better rivals than family since then. He's nothing like my real Dad. We never spoke much, we got into fights, and he'd always try and make soldiers out of us since he's a veteran. He'd always try and talk to me in Military fashion and say things like 'Do this or drop down and give me fifty' or 'That's an order soldier'. He's the head of security at Blackwell, by the way."

Chloe took a deep breath. "I'd like to keep the rest of it personal. I'm sure my Mom and Step-Dad can do all the talking when they get here."

"Sorry I asked, Chloe," Ryan apologized. "We know it couldn't have been easy for you losing your Father that way."

"Sometimes I don't even know who's to blame for all that," said Chloe.

"Chloe, sweaty," Vanessa began. "You know your father never tried to leave you forever on purpose no matter who's to blame. But you had five years to move on with your life without him."

"I really don't want to talk about it," replied Chloe. "Like I said, personal."

"What about school," asked Ryan.

"I got expelled from Blackwell a year ago."

"Really? For what?"

"Vandalism. Bad behavior. I was like everyone's problem at school. I had a very low GPA. I was disruptive in all my classes. Got sent to the office as well as getting detention for a numerous amount of times. Believe me, I was one of the worst students at Blackwell."

Max's parents had come to know more of Chloe's struggles since leaving Arcading Bay. They almost felt sorry for her.

"Is there anything else you'd like to tell us," asked Ryan. "Something not personal?"

"Well," Chloe started. "Over the years while you were away, there was this very special girl I hooked up with named Rachel."

"Rachel Amber," asked Vanessa. "Wasn't that the young lady that went missing in Arcadia months ago?"

"Yeah, she was. Then again, like to keep it personal," Chloe stated trying not to think about her burial at the junkyard. "She was my angel. I treated her the way I treated Max and boy was she a freakin' celebrity at Blackwell. She was an honor student like Victoria. Everyone was obsessed about her. Every student thought she'd be the next class president of Blackwell. At one time, me and her both thought we could just run away together and start a new life in Los Angeles. If we did, I wouldn't have been able to see Max again."

"What about you, Max," asked Ryan turning to his daughter. "What have you and Chloe been up to back in Arcadia?"

"Well," Max began turning to Chloe eating her meal than turning back briefly. "Where do I begin." Max thought for a second trying to start from the beginning. "I first met Chloe again back at Blackwell driving out of the parking lot. She gave me a ride back to her house and made some time there. The next day, Chloe showed me her little hideout her and Rachel made at the junkyard and took a walk on the railroad. We swam together. Took selfies together. Chloe even dared me to kiss her."

"Max," Chloe chuckled.

"Really," Ryan frowned. "You? Kiss her?"

"Yeah," Max replied with a smirk. "She dared me to do it. In her own room. And I did."

"Oh, Max, you didn't have to tell them that," said Chloe grinning.

"I just want you to know everyone, me and Chloe are a thing now. It shouldn't be kept a secret."

"Is it true," Vanessa asked Chloe. "Are you and Max really a thing?"

"Yes, it's true," Chloe admitted. "You can tell that to my Mom and David. But, I believe they already know."

"What makes you think they don't?"

"Well, I trust my Mother knows, but I don't think David does. Seeing how my Mom knows Max better than my Step-Father does."

"Sounds like the two of you made quite the reunion back home," said Ryan. "Anyway, Max, your Mother and I thought about sleeping arrangements while you were on the road and Chloe can sleep your room if you'd like."

"Sure," replied Max. "I was also thinking we can watch a movie on Netflix together in my room, too. Before we hit the hay."

"You can do what you want to, Max," Vanessa stated. "You deserve some time together with Chloe."

After Max, Chloe, and the Caulfield couple finished dinner, Max took Chloe to her room upstairs. Chloe was impressed.

"And here we are," Max expressed. "Welcome to Max's place."

"Wow, Max," said Chloe embracing the sight of Max's bedroom. "You might make me hella jealous! My room is a wreck compared to yours."

Max's room had a small flat-screen Smart-TV with a collection of photos she had taken during her years in Seattle displayed the way her photos were displayed in her dorm back at Blackwell, but bigger. It also had a computer and desktop with a small leather couch and a round bed set for two. The collection of photos was displayed above the couch and there was also a display of lights hung above Max's bed like the one's in her dorm.

Max took her gray hood-e off leaving her pink Jane-Doe shirt on and Chloe took her jacket and beanie off leaving her tank-top and bullet necklace on. They both sat on Max's bed ready to watch something.

"So, what are we gonna watch tonight," asked Chloe.

Max turned on the television with the remote and selected Netflix. Then, scrolled down the selection of movies.

"It's up to you, Chloe," Max suggested. "We can watch from comedy, action, drama, horror, you name it."

Chloe spotted a weird looking movie on the comedy section that pictured a twister with a bunch of shark heads on it.

"Hey, what about that one," Chloe pointed out. "Sharknado."

"Sharknado, Chloe," Max asked turning to her girlfriend frowning. "Do you know what kind of people watch those movies?"

"The kind of people who want to spend two hours of their lives watching something made so atrociously bad on purpose."

Max kept scrolling down.

"Ooh, what about that one," Chloe pointed. "Tremors. The one with Kevin Bacon from Footloose."

"You always loved that movie better than Footloose and we've seen it as many times as Blade Runner."

"What's that one," Chloe asked pointing to another movie in the science fiction section.

"This one? Prometheus?"

"Yeah."

"It's just a prequel to the Alien franchise. The movie's fine. But I've only seen it once and it's no where near as good as Alien nor Aliens."

"Why don't we watch a superhero movie."

"Like what?"

"Like 'The Avengers'. For my Super-Max."

Max remembered what Chloe had said about her being Super-Max back at the motel in Portland. She scrolled up back to the top of the selection to find 'The Avengers' on the popular section and decided to put it on.

"Okay, Avengers it is, then."

"Avengers assemble."

Max and Chloe spent the rest of the night in the bedroom watching 'The Avengers'. They laughed at a few parts such as the part where the Hulk smashes Loki around a bunch of times and enjoyed rest of the action-packed superhero movie for two hours straight. When the movie was ending, the two love birds looked at each other in the eye and kissed.

"You know something, Chloe. No matter what I've done this week, no matter what shit-show we've been through, this is how we should be rewarded. Without my power, our new relationship would've never seen the light of day. You know I'd rather see you by my side than as a martyr for saving a small town from a big storm."

"I know, Max. You've said it before. You don't even have to say it twice."

The two of them smiled and got ready for bed. Max knew she wouldn't had forgiven herself for derailing every last moment they spent together during the week that made Chloe happy again by letter her die that first day. She knew that if she had made the choice Chloe had offered before the aftermath of the storm, she wouldn't been able to see her again for the rest of her life. Max wondered, since Rachel was just as close to Chloe as Max is now and if Rachel had Max's power, would she had made the same choice or would she had done otherwise? Regardless, after a long drive to Seattle and a good evening at Max's house, the brunette and the bluenette tucked themselves under the blankets and fell fast asleep.

 **Note: Whoever is reading this story, I hope your enjoying it. I just want to thank AjaxKnight and AlphaOfAlphas for my inspiration for writing my own story. I've had so many ideas on what Life is Strange Season 2 should be, it would be an honor to show the people at Dontnod what I'm made of. The first episode is almost wrapped up and I've had so many ideas of how the rest of the season should play out. With that said, I'll be writing that last few chapters of this episode as I speak.**

 **Also, I was thinking of a song that should be played for the part where Max and Chloe have arrived at Seattle just for a new soundtrack for a new season. I was thinking of either 'Mountain at My Gates' by Foals, 'Space Oddity' by Lady Heroine, or 'To the Top' by Twin Shadow. Until then, stay tuned!**


	5. Time Lapse

Chapter 5 Time Lapse

The morning sun had risen. Max's alarm clock went off at 7:00 AM. Max slowly woke up and hit her alarm clock. She stretched and yawned. Then turned over to her bluenette's side of the bed seeing that her eyes were still shut, but slowly opened. The two lovers smiled at one another as the sun shining through Max's bedroom window beamed at them.

"Morning, Max."

"Morning, Chloe."

"No nightmares?"

"No nightmares. You?"

"None."

There was nothing more beautiful than Max waking up with her blue angel beside her as the sunrise beamed at them. The two of them got off the bed and changed from their pajamas. Max put on her Jane Doe shirt while Chloe put her tank top on.

"So, Maxi-Brain, what ya wanna to do today," Chloe asked as soon as she just got changed.

"The same thing we do everyday, Chloe," Max answered in a shallow accent. "Take over the world."

"Oh, you did not just quote what I thought you just quote!"

"Chloe and the Brain," Max sang with a deep accent. "Chloe and the Brain."

The two of them laughed out loud.

"Oh, Max! Still know how to make me smile and giggle!"

"Max, Chloe, breakfast is ready!" The two of them herd Vanessa's voice from downstairs.

"Well, we aren't taking over the world with an empty stomach, Max," stated Chloe. "Come on."

The two of them went downstairs to go and eat the breakfast Vanessa had made. When they got downstairs, they saw the Caulfield couple in the kitchen. Vanessa was by the stove with her frying pan flipping pancakes. Ryan was sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper.

"Well, look who's up," said Ryan turning to the two girls coming down the steps and walking into the kitchen.

"Morning, Dad," said Max.

"Morning, Ryan," said Chloe.

Morning, you two," said Vanessa. "I made pancakes and bacon for everyone."

"Smells hella delish," exclaimed Chloe. "Don't even get me started on what my Mom makes me."

"Oh, Chloe," Max began. "Since when do you judge a parent by his or her cooking?"

"Now, now, you two," said Ryan. "Everyone's got a right their opinion. Now, come sit down and eat."

The two of them sat down at the table while Vanessa made everyone a plate. Somehow, Chloe had a big craving for what Vanessa makes compared to what Joyce always made. She could not help herself but get addicted to Vanessa's pancakes.

"Mmm, oh, this is so good," said Chloe with her mouth full. "Can't stop eating. We should see the look on my Mom's face."

"Oh my dog, Chloe," said Max almost irritated for Chloe rubbing it in. "Mom, could you please tell Chloe to stop exaggerating and just enjoy her breakfast?"

"I think Max is right, Chloe," said Vanessa. "There's no need to brag about it."

"So, Max," Ryan began. "Your mother and I were gonna spend some time together downtown. So if you and Chloe would like to do the same, you can. We can give you some money to spend, as well."

"Sure, why not," replied Max. "I think Chloe could use the full Seattle experience."

"I'm sure she does," Vanessa said with a smile. "We can give the two of you a ride somewhere if you need to."

"I think me and her can just take my truck," suggested Chloe swallowing her food and slowing down on it. "It needs gas, but we can spend a little cash on it."

"Do whatcha gotta do, Chloe," replied Ryan. "Just be careful what you spend money on."

"That's my real Dad talking."

As soon as they finished breakfast, Max and Chloe went upstairs to get ready. They walked back to Max's room to grab their stuff and decide what they'll do for their outing in Seattle.

"So, Max," Chloe began asking. "What'll it be today?"

"I was hoping you'd decide," replied Max. "After all, you've always been the one deciding what we'd do since our reunion in Arcadia."

"You're the one who wanted to drag us here. So I'm letting you decide where to go first."

 **X/SQUARE - SHOPPING MALL**

 **B/CIRCLE - CENTRAL PARK**

"There's a mall downtown. We can go shopping for clothes. There's also an arcade and food court. Not a whole lot of places like that in Arcadia."

"A shopping mall, huh? Great choice to spend our money. Sounds hella fun."

"We can also take a walk in the park, too, you know. The place is just as beautiful as the lighthouse back in Arcadia."

"You want to go to the mall first, so be it. A walk in the park sounds just as fun."

"Okay, then. It's settled. Today's the day Max and Chloe take over Seattle!"

"And the day we get ready for the super mosh pit, shaka bra!"

They both had a laugh. The two of them still knew how to joke around and make each other laugh.

"Oh, Chloe," Max sighed. "What would I do without you?!"

"I'm gonna do my hair," Chloe sighed. "Got a hair dryer that I could borrow if you don't mind?"

"There's one in the bathroom down the hall you can use. You can ask my Mom if she'll let you use it. I've got my own hair dryer. I'll let you do your hair first."

"Great. In the meantime, I'll be doing my hair. I'll be done in a jiff."

While Max was blow drying her hair in the bathroom after Chloe, Max heard a noise from outside. It was the sound of a truck backing up outside with it's alarm signal going off. It sounded unusual. Something felt wrong again. Max turned off her blow dryer to investigate the noise coming from outside peaking through the bathroom window.

 _"A moving van? Looks like the one_ _we used when we first moved here? How's that possible?_

Max stepped out of the bathroom and noticed the hallway was empty. No picture frames. No vases and side tables. Nothing. Then she turned to her bedroom and it was empty as a ghost town.

 _"What the fuck? What is this? What's happening now?_

Confused as Max had ever been since the day she had her first storm vision, her best hopes was not another nightmare. But it didn't feel like another nightmare. It almost felt like another time jump like the ones she did when photo jumping. Max walked downstairs to see if the rest of the house still remained. Which it didn't. She walked into the living room with no couch, no table, no television set, no anything. She could even see that the kitchen and dinning room were vacant, as well. This was how the house obviously looked like when Max and her family moved here five years from then.

 _"This is how the house looked like when I fist moved here, obviously. What did I do now? Have I jumped back five years in the past again, somehow?"_

"We're here," a voice said as Max quickly turned towards the front door as it opened. It was her Father being the first one to enter our new home in Seattle. Then Max and her Mother had entered and there she was. Max had seen her thirteen-year-old self again. Still depressed for leaving Chloe behind after the passing of her Father.

"Well, I think we're gonna like it here, Ryan," said Vanessa.

"Yep, we sure are," said Ryan. "This is where are new life in Seattle begins. How 'bout you, Max? What do you think?"

The thirteen-year-old Max was still frowning.

"Hey," said Ryan getting his daughter's attention. "Cheer up, Max. Stop worrying about Chloe and start worrying about what we can do here."

Ryan kneeled down to his daughter.

"Max, listen," he began looking at Max in the eye. "Chloe can move on with her life. She'll get through it. You were there for her. We all were. You can make new friends here... and Chloe can make new friends back in Arcadia for her support. It's time you moved on, as well. Understand?"

"Okay," the thirteen-year-old Max replied with a nod.

Max could never forget her first time coming to Seattle. As the scene faded away, it then transitioned to a quicker pace. Max was now time traveling at supersonic speed while she stood in the same place. The scenes were now transitioning from Max and her family unpacking to the house being fully set up with furniture to what Max and her parents did in the house over the years and so on. Like pressing the fast-forward button on a TV remote.

Finally, as Max's residual fast-forward time travel had slowed down, the scenes had stopped to the time Max was leaving for Arcadia Bay just a month earlier. She could see herself by the front door with her parents saying goodbye to her.

"Max, sweetheart," Vanessa said giving her daughter a hug. "Good luck back in Arcadia."

"Thanks, Mom," Max had said to her Mother before leaving. "I'm gonna need it. Love you."

"Love you to, Max."

"Hey, Max," began Ryan. "If you ever see Chloe back in town, tell her I said hi."

"I will, Dad," Max was saying giving her Father a hug. "I'll send you a postcard if I can. Otherwise, I can shoot you text or something."

"And another thing. You've made us proud these past five years in Seattle. Make us proud again in Arcadia as you did here."

"You know it, Dad. Love you."

"Love you, too, Max."

 _"Max? Hey, Max. Max. Max!"_

Max was startled and gasped as someone touched her shoulder. It was her Father. Max was now back to reality in the living room to the present day in October. Everything in the house was back in place as Max remembered.

"Hey, you okay, Max," her Father asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," replied Max turning her head left and right. "I was just day dreaming was all."

"Why do you look so zoned out?"

"Well... I just... came down here to see if you and Mom were ready to leave yet."

"We're still getting ready. Chloe's upstairs wondering if your ready. When you are, you two have fun."

 **Note: It would appear life is getting a little stranger, isn't it? Anyway, that's Chapter 5. Took me a little bit to write this chapter. This is my last week of school and I had been a little busy with school work and finals with my last day around the corner. It's the end of my senior year and I'll be graduating high school next week! So no worries!**

 **Also, I got to play Uncharted 4 A Thief's End last weekend and boy the game was so great, there were actually some parts in the game that may have been inspiring to my story. I just want everyone to know that since Max's time traveling days are far from over, her powers are gonna get a little upgrade in this season. If I wanted to, I could encourage Dontnod to do so. That's all for now. Stay tuned!**


	6. Make Some Time

Chapter 6 Make Some Time

As soon as Max's parents left the house, Max and Chloe left, as well. After they filled the truck with gas they had to drive through downtown to get to the mall. Chloe had been amazed driving through such a big city in an urban area. Max gave Chloe directions to get to the mall. Even though they had no map or GPS to get across the city, Max had five years living in Seattle to understand her home away from home by the back of her hand.

"It's so amazing here driving across Seattle," said Chloe driving through the streets of Seattle. "And I thought the streets of Paris were phenomenal."

"The only difference between here and there is that people don't talk zlike this," said Max stereotypically speaking with a French accent."

"Ha, you make the worst impressions, Max."

"Do I?"

"Uh-huh."

"You think you can do better than zis Monquer Price?"

"Oh, I zink you could do vetter than zhat Monque Caulfield."

The two of them laughed. As soon they calmed, Max had a thought.

"You know, you think Rachel would've liked it here?"

"She would've preferred LA over this. That's what me and her dreamed about going to that is."

"Why there?"

"Rachel was born in California. We always talked about going there to start a new life. That was the place where she wanted to be role model."

"What would you do there?"

"I was never sure what I'd do there. I honestly had little ambition since Dad died."

"Didn't you used to have an ambition in physics?"

"Yeah, I did. Until I lost interest in it and turned it down. Not because of my Dad dying, but because I've had other interest since his death. Even if it was doing drugs and causing mischief. That's how I got my bad rep at Blackwell and how I got expelled."

Max had yet another thought about Rachel. More questions she always asked herself since she first heard about Rachel.

"Something tells me I was never the only one to inherit super powers in Arcadia Bay."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that do you really think Rachel being Blackwell's idol was as easy as a child walking for the first time? When we broke into the office that night, I saw her file and she had a full scale 4.0 for her GPA."

"And your point is?"

"My point being is that she could've had powers just like mine. In order to be what she was. To make everyone idolize her. Perhaps that was how she was able to get away with her secret affair with Frank."

"Max don't be ridiculous. If she had powers like yours, which she didn't, she would've told me so like you had."

"That's what Rachel probably wanted you to believe. All that time, she could've kept it all secret. My theory is that she probably used all those powers to hide all her secrets and erase her mistakes as I have."

"Max, there are ways Rachel double-crossed me and became a celeb without powers. I know there was. Why are we even having a discussion about Rachel to begin with?"

 **X/SQUARE - TELL HER MORE**

 **B/CIRCLE - FORGET ABOUT IT**

"Just forget it. Rachel maybe gone, but I'm all that you got now. That's all that matters."

Chloe kept driving as Max ended the conversation about Rachel. Nevertheless, there were many unanswered questions about Rachel's story. Max started to have theories about Rachel still being out there somewhere. Before her and Chloe discovered the body at the junkyard, Chloe had thought Rachel had posed for those pictures with Nathan and paid her a good chunk of cash for it. Then, perhaps afterward, the cash she was paid was enough for her to run away somewhere far away from Arcadia such as LA or what not. The question was, if that was ever true, why would she have run away without Chloe?

"The mall's not much further," stated Max. Still in need for giving Chloe directions to their destination. "Just keep going straight and turn right on the next intersection ahead of us."

Max and Chloe had reached their destination. Upon arrival, they drove into the parking lot past the shopping mall sign:

 **Pacific Place**

 **Mall**

Max suggested since the outdoor parking was full, they could park inside the parking garage. Once they entered the parking garage, Chloe parked the truck on the third floor. The two of them made their way to the front entrance of the mall past the courtyard. It was beautiful. There were people crowding the area. A water fountain was placed there. Trees were planted around the concrete. Even lights were hung around the area. It was a nice place for Max to take more photos.

Lunch time was around the corner and Max and Chloe's first place they went inside the mall was the food court. Chloe had never been to such a place where there was a massive selection of fast food restaurants. It was like a new experience to her. There was a choice of food from either Burger King, McDonald's, Arby's, Subway, Panda Express, Carl's Jr, Pizza Hut, Quiznos, Dairy Queen, Cold Stone, Baskin Robbins, Chick-Fil-A, A&W, etc. The two of them chose to eat Burger King. Max ordered a whopper. Chloe order chicken fries. They both found a table to sit and eat. Then they enjoyed their meals.

"Mm, Max," said Chloe with her mouth full. "I've never been to such an incredible place where every fast food franchise is right in front of your face."

"I'm telling, Chloe," said Max taking a bit from her burger. "This is my treat I bring to you the opportunity of a lifetime."

Max and Chloe swallowed their food and cleared their mouths.

"Something tells me that without you power, Max, we wouldn't have made it this far."

"No shit. And there you were giving me that photo just to throw our new relationship away."

They laughed.

"Well, Max, if I'd known we'd be in this kind of position we're in now just by choosing to sacrifice a town over your lover, we wouldn't have had to much to look forward to."

"Honestly, I can't even imagine what my life would be like without you, Chloe. Your my angel. My angel with blue hair and butterfly wings."

"And your my little Jane Doe with brown hair and freckles."

"What makes you say that?"

"What makes you say what you described me as?"

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second."

"Oh my dog, Chloe. You're so argumentive as you are stubborn."

"Okay, okay... Considering your a hipster who wears t-shirts with a doe, it's like your spirit animal or something."

"Samuel once said as you had. That the doe was my animal."

"Why would Samuel say that's your animal."

"I once asked him about it when I actually say my spirit."

"When did you see your spirit?"

"I believe I've actually seen it before back at the junkyard and even in one my visions of the tornado. I'm thinking that your spirit could be the butterfly."

"And what makes you say that?"

"That first day in the bathroom, before you and Nathan walked in and had that fight, I saw this butterfly with glowing blue wings flying around in there. I'd never seen anything like it. And that's when I took the picture of it."

"But what makes you think that's my spirit?"

"Because the moment I saw that butterfly was when you came in. Somehow, we're all connected to mystical spirit creatures."

"Max, I don't believe in myths, you know. But, I get what you're saying."

Chloe dipped one of her chicken fries in barbeque sauce and took a bite. Max took another bite of her whopper before speaking to Chloe again.

"I've always wondered what gave me my powers - and I think I might know how."

"Well?"

"To be honest, my only theory about the origin of my power is perhaps from the butterfly I saw."

"Why do you say that?"

"Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect myth?"

"Great, more myths."

"Chloe, if my vision of the storm came true, all these myths can be true, as well. Until now, every unanswered question I have for myself remains a mystery."

"So, let me guess. This butterfly that you saw gave you the power to wield time with the butterfly effect?"

"That's what I'm telling ya."

"Well, Max, forget about it. We're both living happily together in Seattle and today we're gonna shop 'til we drop. And it's gonna be hella fun."

"Whatever you say, Chloe. Hanging out together at a mall at in Seattle has so far been the best medicine I've ever taken from such a crazy as hell week. All the good people we lost in Arcadia Bay and this is how we're rewarded."

Chloe took a sip of her drink she ordered with her food. Then she thought of where her and Max could spend time together in the mall.

"So, where could we spend time here, Max? This is a pretty big mall, you know. And it's hella crowded too."

 **X/SQUARE - SHOPPING**

 **B/CIRCLE - ARCADE**

"Why don't we go to the arcade? There's one across the food court."

"Alright, you said it, Max. I don't think I've ever touched an arcade machine or two since Rachel disappeared."

"You played video games with Rachel?"

"Occasionally, yeah."

"Where did you do that?"

"Well, we once broke into this abandoned arcade place in Arcadia and found an arcade port that still worked."

"You and Rachel broke into places?"

"Rachel had once snuck into my house at one time and she suggested that we sneak out of my home to do things we weren't supposed to do. It was five in the morning when we did it."

"You've done lot of things you weren't supposed to do since I left Arcadia."

"Like what?"

"Don't get coy, Chloe. The drugs. The vandalism. The things that got you expelled for. I saw your file in Principle Wells' office and even said you had a police record or two. How many times have you been busted by the police?"

"Too many times. Anyway, when we're done eating, we head to the arcade. Right?"

"Right."

 **So that's that. I wanted this chapter to relate to some of Max's new powers, but decided to wait until the next chapter. Also, it would be interesting to see some product placement in season 2. If Dontnod had the license to do so.**

 **Expect the next chapter to make Max's life even stranger. Another thing, by playing Uncharted 4, I've had no plans for a crossover fic with my story and the game whatsoever. There were just a few scenes from that game having to be so inspiring, I kinda wanted to make a few scenes in this season to be almost similar to my favorite scenes from Uncharted 4. (And no. There will be no treasure hunting in this season!) All I'm saying is that there were a few action sequences in Uncharted 4 that made me want to put some action elements in this season!**

 **While the first season relied on sadness and tragedy, I wanted this season to let readers be entertained by some action and not have to be grabbing a tissue box or a bowl of ice cream all the time when comes to those other elements. Especially, for when it came down to the sacrifice bae ending that went down in gaming history as the Red Wedding of teen fiction. However, there won't be too much action until sometime next episode.**

 **Anyway, that's all for now. Stay tuned!**


	7. Dark Secret

Chapter 7 Dark Secret

Max and Chloe left the food court and went straight into the arcade. They spent some of their cash on tokens in order to play a game or two. Their first game that they played was a rail-shooting game "Time Crisis 4". Max was player one. Chloe was player two. The two of them pointed their gun controllers at screen shooting every enemy on screen. Eventually, it was game over for them and they decided not to waste any more tokens on the game and move on to another.

"Wowsers, I've never played such a video game with a shit load of shooting," said Max.

"Oh, give me a break Max," said Chloe. "We got to shoot some bottles with some fancy tricks and now your complaining about how violent video games are?"

"You ended up shooting yourself that time and I had to rewind a few times to get those tricks right."

"Right. We still got a few tokens to spend. What else should we play?"

"We can play air hockey or something."

"Max, look," Chloe gasped pointing out to something. "Guitar Hero!"

"Guitar Hero, Chloe? Do you even know how to play that?"

"Come on, Max. Rachel and I played it before and I kicked ass. Want to bet?"

"Why would I be betting on it?"

"Just to prove that your punk-rock cheerleader can actually rock."

"Okay, but that's gonna cost ya four tokens though."

Chloe inserted four tokens into the slot, picked up her guitar controller, and hit the start button. She scrolled down to pick a song to play and saw that her favorite punk rock group was on the list.

"Hey, look! 'All the Small Things' by Blink-182 is on the list. That's my jam!"

"I'm sure it is."

Chloe selected her song. Then had to select a difficulty setting from either easy, medium, hard, or expert.

"I bet I can complete this song on expert," Chloe claimed. "What do ya say?"

"You're move, Chloe," replied Max.

Chloe selected her difficulty. She was ready to rock. When the song started, Chloe hit her first note, then the next note after that, and then the next note after that, and so on. She didn't even miss one note on her first attempt. Was she really that good? Then the lyrics came on.

All the small things  
True care truth brings  
I'll take one lift  
Your ride best trip  
Always I know  
You'll be at my show  
Watching, waiting, commiserating

Say it ain't so, I will not go  
Turn the lights off, carry me home  
Na, na, na, na  
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

"Come, Max! Rock on!"

"Wowsers, Chloe! You kick ass!"

Late night, come home  
Work sucks, I know  
She left me roses by the stairs  
Surprises let me know she cares

Say it ain't so, I will not go  
Turn the lights off, carry me home  
Na, na, na, na  
Na, na, na, na, na, na, , na na, na, na, na

Max did a little air-guitar dance while her girlfriend played her song like there was no tomorrow. Chloe kicked even more ass at Guitar Hero than Max ever knew she could. Especially, at a very high difficulty setting as expert.

Say it ain't so, I will not go  
Turn the lights off, carry me home  
Keep your head still, I'll be your thrill  
The night will go on, my little windmill

Say it ain't so, I will not go  
Turn the lights off, carry me home  
Keep your head still, I'll be your thrill  
The night will go on,  
The night will go on,  
My little windmill

"Whoa!" Chloe had just beat her favorite song on a super high difficulty and the two of them laughed out loud. She had not missed one note on her song and was really hardcore at Guitar Hero.

"Oh, wowsers, Chloe! That did not just happen!"

"Never underestimate the irony of punk-rock nature! I'm hella fuckin' awesome!"

The two of them took a deep breath as Chloe put her guitar controller down. Then Chloe thought it was time to do something else.

"I think it's about time we do some shopping."

"Shopping? Already?"

"Hell yeah, already. I think it's time we get you a new style, Max. Just like mine."

"Haven't I already tried your style, before?"

"Well, you did try Rachel's which was the same as mine. But we can get you your own. Know any clothing stores where we can find you some?"

"The only place I know for sure that would have that style would probably be Hot Topic. We're gonna have to get to the other side of the mall, though."

"Then let's go there. Do we have enough cash?"

Max took out the money they borrowed from her parents from her purse to see how much they had left.

"We just might have enough for clothes."

"Good. Let's roll."

Upon walking through the crowd, there were hundreds of stores aisled throughout the mall. Max had nearly forgotten how it was like walking through a super-crowded area to get from store to store since she came back to Arcadia Bay. Max tried to remember where Hot Topic was located in the mall and they both had to take an escalator a couple times to get to the store.

Suddenly, Max could hear voices in her head. Of course, she would hear whispers whenever she used her rewind power, but this was different. She was hearing the voices of people crowding the mall.

 _"What the fuck is going on now? Why am I hearing things? Why do I hear everyone in the mall?"_

Then Max's vision went monochrome and her eyes were glowing blue. Every person that she saw was colored orange and everything else went pure dark. It was like having heat vision from 'Predator' with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 _"What is this? I'm hearing things and now everything is going monochrome? What the fuck is this? Just when I thought my life couldn't get any stranger or weirder!"_

"Max!"

Chloe had startled Max as she snapped out of it. Chloe's hand shook Max's shoulder before Max's vision returned to normal and looked Chloe in the eye.

"What the fuck, Max? You trying to bail on me or something? This place is hella crowded. What's wrong with you?"

Chloe had seen a nose bleed run through Max's nose.

"Oh my god, Max. Is that a nose bleed? Jesus, what's wrong Max? What is it?"

"Chloe, I can't really say," Max said whipping the blood with her finger.

"Max, you need to tell me. What's wrong. What's the matter?"

 **X/SQUARE - CONFESS**

 **B/CIRCLE - PARTLY CONFESS**

"I just have a headache and nosebleed. It's some kind of side effect from my powers."

"Well...just hang in there Max. I don't want to lose you in a crowd as I would lose you by dying. Come on. The store's straight ahead."

Max and Chloe made it to the store. Inside, they tried to find the right clothes for Max to wear in a punk-rock fashion so she could match Chloe's persona. Max looked through an aisle of t-shirts in the right fashion.

 _"So, if I were to dress like a punk-rock junkie, what would I where?"_

Max scanned through every shirt in the aisle until she saw a shirt she liked. She grabbed a NIN shirt from the aisle.

 _"Nine Inch Nails. Great group. Not as good as Nirvana, but not as bad either."_

Then, Max saw another shirt colored yellow with a logo on it that reminded her of a time traveling movie from the 80's and grabbed it, as well.

 _"Flux Capacitor. Where have I seen this before?"_

Max went over to an aisle with sweatshirts carrying the t-shirts with her incase if she were to buy them.

 _"If I were to get a new sweatshirt, which one would make me look more punk-rock-ish."_

Max scanned the aisle until she saw one that looked like the right style. It was dark blue with evil eye symbols inside a triangle detailed on the sleeves and backside on it. It had words under the evil eye symbol labeled on the backside.

 _"Don't look,"_ Max read. _"I just looked."_

Max walked up to where Chloe was picking out her clothes. She stood in front of a mirror where she held two tank-tops and placed each of them in front of her body to see which one she liked more. There was a tank-top that was Nirvana themed with a smiley face, x's marked for eyes, and tongue sticking out. The other one had red camo with a big number 4 on it.

"What do you think, Max? Tough decision isn't it?"

"I think you'd look awesome in that Nirvana shirt."

"Yeah, I suppose. I'm gonna try both of these on in the dressing room. What did you pick out, Max?"

"An NIN shirt and a Flux Capacitor shirt."

"An NIN shirt and a Flux Capacitor shirt, huh? As much as NIN is hella amazeballs, you've got a flux capacitor for a heart and a time circuit for a brain. You'd be best suited with the shirt that makes all time travel possible."

"You sound like Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future."

"Doc Brown?"

"Doc Brown."

"Great Scott!"

They both laughed when Chloe said that in her Doc Brown impression.

"Well, Chloe, I guess I better try on my clothes, too. I'll be ready when you are."

Max entered the dressing room and into a stall. She looked at herself in the mirror and took her gray sweatshirt off to get changed.

 _"Okay, time to get punk-rocky."_

 **A/X - PUT ON FLUX CAPACITOR SHIRT**

 _"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, your gonna see some serious shit."_

 **A/X - PUT ON NIN SHIRT**

 _"What that song by NIN? Hurt? Didn't Johnny Cash do cover for that song? I always thought it was him that originally performed that when it was really NIN._

 **A/X - PUT ON EVIL EYE SWEATSHIRT**

When Max put on her new sweatshirt, she felt ringing in her ears and saw her nose bleeding in the mirror. Then something startled her. A shadow figure with glowing blue eyes and a glowing red hot sparkle in it's chest translucently flashed through Max's reflection. Suddenly, the lights blew out and the room went dark. Max gasped in horror. Then she was no longer in the room. No longer in her stall. No longer anywhere. She was now in a pitch dark area where her new shirt glowed purple and where she saw a tree sparking bolts of electricity. It almost reminded her of the Whomping Willow from Harry Potter.

 _"What the fuck is this? What's going on? Why am I here? What kind of place is this?"_

The confounded photographer walked up slowly to where the tree was. In attempt to approaching the tree, she saw the spirit doe she had thought to be her spirit animal standing next to the tree. Then the blue butterfly, the same butterfly that took place of Chloe's pre-set death warrant, flew past Max flying up to the tree and landing on a branch. Out of nowhere, the shadow figure teleported behind Max with a very deep and vibrant voice.

"Max."

The voice startled Max as she swiftly turned to where it came from noticing she was back in the stall. The lights were on and she had snapped back to reality.

"Max," Chloe called from the stall next to Max's. "You okay? Something startle you?"

"I'm fine," lied Max. "It was just a spider I saw crawling on the ground."

"A spider, Max? The amazing Spider-Max is afraid of spiders?"

"Very funny, Chloe. Have you decided what your gonna get yet?"

"I think I'm just gonna take both these shirts if we can afford them. How 'bout you?"

"Um...I think I'll take everything, as well. Should have enough to pay for all our clothes. But, that may be all that we can spend for today."

"Whatever you say, Max. I'm ready when you are."

Max stared back into her reflection and thought about what she had been through thus far since before they left the house.

 _"Oh, Max. What else does it take for your life to be even more fucked up? I've gotta feeling it's about to get even worse. Much worse."_

 **Note:**

 **Fucked up shit, wasn't it? This season won't only have some action in it, it'll take on a much darker root. And all of it will be explained in future episodes. In case this chapter took too long, I got to play the new Doom and as Chloe would say, it was hella fucking gory!**

 **The clothes that Max and Chloe picked out were based on Nexus mods designed for Life is Strange. Specifically, clothing mods made for the two of them while playing through the first season.**

 **Until next time, stay tuned!**


	8. Partner In Time

Chapter 8 Partner in Time

As soon as Max and Chloe left the mall, they had just a little more money left to spend to get some lattes from Starbucks. They drank their lattes while they drove their way to the park. They also had their shopping bags from the store carrying their new clothes inside the truck, as well.

"So, Max, tell me. About what you were saying earlier, about Rachel, there was something else you were gonna say about her, right?"

"Yeah, there was. But, I didn't think you'd like it."

"Why wouldn't I like it?"

Max took a deep breath just to get ready to spit out what she wanted to say.

"Okay. There's this girl from Blackwell named Stella. She once told me she had another secret affair with someone other than Frank. She found out about it on a source or too."

"So, you're telling me that Rachel cheated on both me and Frank for yet another person. And who could that person be?"

"As much as it cringes me to say it... she said it was... Jefferson."

"Shut the fuck up, Max. You're saying Stella told that Jefferson, the man who killed Rachel and used Nathan to do all his nasty work, actually had an affair with Rachel herself?"

"Sometimes I wonder what Rachel was really up to all that time back in Arcadia Bay. I believe Rachel and Nathan had both treated Jefferson as some sort of Father figure or something."

"Well, none matters now since they're both dead and buried. All that really matters now is that we move on with our lives and forget about whatever happened last week."

Chloe took a sip of her latte as well as Max took a sip from hers. Then Max's phone rang from her pocket. She took it out to answer it seeing who it was.

"Who's that," asked Chloe.

"It's Victoria," Max replied answering the phone. "Victoria?"

 _"Max! Did you hear the news!"_

"Victoria, you okay? What's wrong? Where are you?"

Victoria was sobbing on the phone talking to Max.

 _"I just got back from San Francisco! It's Nathan! He's dead! The police found his body in the junkyard and he was shot to death!_

"He was what?!"

 _"Someone shot Nathan! He's gone! He's gone!_

Victoria kept sobbing and wailing as Max went silent for a second or two and put her hand over her mouth.

"Jesus Christ, Victoria! I'm...I'm so sorry!"

 _"Who would do such a thing! He deserved so much better!"_

Victoria hung up. Max put her phone down looking down at herself. Then turned to Chloe.

"That was Victoria. She found out about Nathan's death. She was once friends with him you know."

"I know how she feels," Chloe sighed. Thinking back to how she felt when she witnessed Rachel's fate. "It's not like I'm sorry about that anyway. Since Nathan involved in Rachel's murder."

"The park is not far off from here," Max stated. "Let's just not park anywhere we can get a parking ticket."

Max and Chloe arrived at the park. It was a beautiful place. There were people walking around through the walkway. An old lady was feeding pigeons as Samuel would do to his squirrels. There were some people in tracksuits jogging on the walkways. The trees in the park made the atmosphere of the place look glorious. The two love birds held each others arms on their walk through the park like they had done balancing each other on the railroad back in Arcadia Bay.

"Isn't this great, Chloe. Us together. Partners in crime. Walking through a peaceful haven where life can be dreams."

"I know, Max. Rachel would've loved this. By now, she's probably in a better place as this one."

"What else did you and Rachel do back in Arcadia? Do you ever cause even more mischief than just breaking into places?"

"We did so much in Arcadia Bay. Even mischief. When we snuck out of the house that one time, she took me to this abandoned part of town by the junkyard. We threw bricks at old cars, snipped some bottles, broke into a Halloween store, rode a carousel, broke into the arcade, played with squirt guns, and danced to a little song on one of Rachel's tapes she played on a stereo."

"Was that one of Rachel's songs?"

"Nah, just an oldie where she came from."

"What kind of oldie?"

"An oldie from Green Day."

"Green Day?!" Max Gasped. "Oh, I fell in love with that group more than I did with Backstreet Boys."

"Oh, you did not just say Backstreet Boys."

"Oh, yes I did. They're no where near as bad as Justin Bieber for all I care."

"Now Maximus is getting me started on Justin Biebitch?"

"Biebitch? Biebitch? You know you're real creative with mixing names with dirty words."

"Right. Like how I call my Step-Dad something like Step-Faggot or Step-Dick. You know what I mean."

"What do you suppose you'd call Nathan Prescott. Ever game him a dirty name?"

"Well, Max, you've already came up with Dickbag the Asshole. How 'bout Nathan Prescunt?

"Nathan Prescunt?!" Max chuckled. "Don't make me laugh."

"I've already have."

The two of them smiled at each other and found themselves by the waterfront of the park. There was a large wide-open space with grass for people to relax on and gaze at the sky. There were families having picnics, people flying kites, children chasing each other, people that were Max and Chloe's age socializing, all scattered around the place. There were also seagulls scattered around the shoreline of the waterfront. The sight of the afternoon sun shining across the waterfront as well as the view of the rest of Seattle from a distance made Max and Chloe's day even more glorious.

Max and Chloe found an empty place to sit by and talk for a moment. As they sat, seagulls flew across the park and boats floated from a distance down on the waterfront towards the docks. The waterfront was a delta connecting to the Pacific Ocean. The two of them sat side by side gazing into the beautiful distance.

"And I thought the view of Arcadia Bay from the lighthouse was a glory," said Chloe.

"It still is," said Max. "I keep telling you, Chloe. I really think you were better off coming with me here than being left behind."

"Then Mom wouldn't have married David. And I wouldn't have met Rachel."

"You and I have more history than you do with Rachel. You would've loved living here with me in Seattle and you still could. You really could."

Chloe gave Max a minor smile. Then turned her eyes forward. Max had a thought for second about her power struggle between denying destiny and accepting it.

"Do remember that one quote from Spider-Man? Uncle Ben's quote? Great power comes great responsibility?"

"I think so."

"Until now, that's something I've learned since the day I first saved you. I have great power...and now I have great responsibility."

Chloe turned to her girlfriend intrigued by what Max had said. Max turned back. What she had just said to Chloe, had never been more true then it has now. They held each other's hands. Time wielding had been Max's greatest power, while Chloe's life had been Max's greatest responsibility.

Chloe had thought back to the night the storm washed out Arcadia Bay. Perhaps responsibility is more powerful than destiny. The kind of destiny that's never easy to accept as well as deny. Responsibility is what can determine destiny. Perhaps Max's greatest responsibility was what she had to learn from her powers and not the obligation and inevitability of Chloe's profound fate.

"Max...that's...the greatest thing you've ever said to me. How many times can you even prove that to me?"

"Chloe...you're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me all my life. We were meant for this. There is so much that can happen to us surpassing your fate. The fate that kept purging your life last week. It's hard to even image what I would've thrown away. How could you even accept it with no regrets. It would've not only put a burden on Joyce and David, it would've put a burden on me more than anyone."

"There were so many burdens I had to carry throughout the years. And you're right. I have the right to live. The right to be together with you, Mom, and even David. There's really nothing more for me to say."

Max remained silent as well as Chloe. Just to put their mind off of what they've been saying, Max thought they should do something.

"How 'bout we go skipping stones?"

"Skipping stones? Huh. Now your talking."

Chloe patted Max on the shoulder. Then walked down near the water with Max. Max picked up a rock on the shore. Then decided to have a contest with Chloe.

"Okay, Chloe. Rules are simple. Whoever can skip stones the furthest will win. Best out of three or five?"

"Best out of three will be my best bet."

"Then it's settled. Care if Super-Max goes first."

"That's your move. Not mine."

Max decided to go first. She then swung her arm with the rock in her hand in order to adjust the momentum of her aim. Then she tossed the rock into the water as it bounced ten feet away.

"Ah, come on, Max," Chloe exclaimed. "I bet I can throw a little further than that!"

"If you think you can throw further than Super-Max, be my guest."

Chloe picked up her rock from the ground getting ready to make her shot. She adjusted her aim the same way Max did. Then tossed her stone in the water bouncing and making small little splashes fifteen feet across.

"Wowser," Max exclaimed. "You threw further than me! You threw like five feet further than I did!"

"Ah, wa wa," Chloe mocked. "I threw further than Super-Max!"

"Oh, I think you're gonna regret outmatching the mighty Super-Max! Two more tries!"

Max picked up another rock and tossed it into the water twenty feet across. Five more feet further than Chloe's throw.

"Wow," Chloe said impressed. "You - you threw even further than I did, Max!"

"Those who challenge the amazing Spider-Max will lose!"

"Oh, we'll see about that! My turn!"

Chloe picked up another rock for another go. Then tossed it twenty-five feet across. Yet five more feet than Max's last throw.

"Damn, Chloe! Are you cheating?!"

"You can never cheat at skipping stones, Max."

"If you say so. One last try. If I throw further, drinks are on me."

Max picked up her rock for her last go. But this time, she wanted to throw it so far, it took her a few more seconds to get her momentum precisely where she wanted it to be. When she was ready, she threw her rock so hard, she shot her hand very roughly in front of her as Max's rock flew over the water only to be stopped in its tracks. The rock was now frozen in the air. Max and Chloe stared at the rock that stood still in the air, puzzled. Then the rock fell in the water.

"Max, what was that?"

"I...I don't know."

"Max, what did you just do?"

"I - I just threw that rock...and it just froze?"

Max and Chloe stared at each other briefly. Then Max picked up another rock and threw it in the air thrusting her hand in front of her to test this new power. Then the rock froze itself just like the other rock. The two of them observed the rock that stood still from a distance until it fell in the water.

"Wowser."

"Okay, Max. Whatever you just did, was hella weird. How did you that?"

"I just shot my hand in the air and the rock just froze. In time."

The two of them turned back to where the rocks Max froze landed. Then Max picked up another rock to test with her new power. This time throwing it up in the air above the two of them. Before the rock could it the ground, Max waved her hand where the rock was going to fall and it froze. Max stared at her hand flabbergasted.

As if rewinding time wasn't strange enough, Max was now getting new powers even stranger than rewind. But why? Why were Max's powers advancing after a storm that had flushed out six-hundred people? And what would be the point of Max's new time bending powers anyway?

Max noticed her nose was bleeding again and wiped it with her finger. Then the frozen rock had fell on Max's head.

"Ow!" Max touched her head to where the rock hit her.

"Jesus, Max! What the fuck is going on?!"

"I don't know, Chloe, and I don't care!"

"Well, I care, Max! Whatever the problem is, we have to be in it together. Max talk to me. What's going on-"

All of a sudden, Max noticed that her girlfriend stood still and frozen. She frowned, and then, took a step backward. Then turned around to see that her surroundings had been frozen solid, too.

 _"What the fuck is this shit?! Everything, everyone...is standing still."_

Everything and everyone had stood still in place. It was like entering a block of ice that froze the world. Max could see people standing and sitting in place like statues. Birds flying in mid-air like window displays.

 _"I know this has happened before. When I had to save Kate. But, this feels different. It feels more comfortable than before."_

Max turned back to her girlfriend still frozen. She approached her frozen girlfriend and touched her. As soon as she did, Chloe was unfrozen. Chloe gasped as soon as Max freed her from her stillness by simply gripping her arm.

"Max."

"Chloe, stay calm! I'm just as freaked out as you are."

Chloe turned her in every direction confused.

"Max, what the fuck is this? What's going on?"

"Chloe, somehow I froze time, okay? You were just frozen in time, too. When I touched you, you got unfrozen. And now...time has paused all around us."

"Max, how the fuck are you doing this? You freeze objects in time and now you can actually pause time itself?"

"This isn't the only power I acquired myself with today."

"What do you mean?"

"This morning before we left, I somehow jumped back in time to day I first moved here. Then, back at the mall, I had this kind of supervision where everything went monochrome and I can hear voices from a distance. And that's nothing compared to what else I'm about to explain to you."

"I'm listening."

"I had this vision earlier back at mall. Like the one I had with the storm. But, way worse. In the vision, I was in this very dark place. There was this tree with sparks flashing around it. And I think I saw our spirit animals. The doe and the butterfly. Then there was this very dark and shadowy looking figure that called out my name. God, Chloe. Why couldn't the storm be enough. Why couldn't my rewind be enough."

Max hugged Chloe tightly. Max sobbed a little. Just when Chloe thought she was the one who's life had been dipped in shit. Max's life was starting to get even worse.

"Max, look at me," said Chloe. Max's had tears on her face when Chloe looked at her in eye. "Whatever this is, whatever powers or visions; whatever the fuck you've encountered, we can get through this, okay?"

Max stopped sobbing and wiped her tears.

"So you can pause time, huh? Well...can you...un-pause time?"

"I don't know, Chloe. The last time I froze time, I used it to save Kate back at Blackwell. But, I was only able to use it temporarily. Maybe this will only happen temporarily, too."

"So...this power can un-pause itself?"

"I don't know. Maybe it will. I don't even know how I caused this. Maybe time just froze itself or something. Not sure why, but it has." Max sighed. "We should get out of here. Find a way out of this."

"And how would we do that?"

"Why don't we just walk it out? Maybe time can resume itself by then."

"Okay...but...doesn't feel a little weird to you?"

"Not even a little."

Suddenly, time resumed itself again. It startled the two of them for a moment. They were both relieved, but still puzzled. Everyone and everything was moving like normal again.

"Whoa," exclaimed Chloe.

"Yeah, whoa," Max said back.

"Speak of the devil. Time really did just resume itself, but...but..."

"But why?"

Even though the two of them were still confounded with the situation, it was time for them to snap out of it.

"We should go," Max stated. "I've had enough for one day."

"You and me both."

As Max and Chloe made their way out of the park and onto the sidewalk to get to the truck, they calmed themselves hoping nothing else strange would happen again. Little did they know something else strange would happen again.

When the two of them walked through the crowd of people on the sidewalk, Max's phone rang and picked it up from her pocket to see who it was.

"Who could that be," asked Chloe.

"It's Warren," replied Max. "That's who." Max answered her phone. "Hey, Warren. What's up?"

 _"Max, did you hear about Nathan!"_

"Yes, Warren, I heard. It's fucked up. Victoria had called me about it earlier and she's not happy."

 _"I know, Max. Victoria's been crying her eyes out and Nathan's father Sean is pretty pissed about it, too. God...I just had to beat his ass the other day."_

"Warren, don't blame yourself. Someone shot his ass, obviously."

 _"I know. I know, Max. But, still, the more I think about it, the more I feel bad for him. Sigh. So, how's Seattle?"_

"It's great. Me and Chloe are staying over at my parents' house and right now we're just chillin' downtown. So what's the situation over there so far?"

 _"Me and my parents are now living in a mobile home. There's so many people that came here to the sanctuary at Blackwell. People are living in trailers, tents, and there's even some people living in the classrooms and dorms. We all can't even go to class anymore. They're doing all they can just to satisfy everyone in Arcadia."_

"Well...all I could really say is...take care, Warren."

 _"You too, Max. See ya around."_

As soon as Warren hung up, Max put her phone away only to see time had frozen itself again. The crowd stood on the sidewalk stood still as well as the cars moving down the streets. Max panicked looking around at her surroundings in stasis.

 _"Oh, come on! Is time just gonna pause itself at random now?!"_

Max turned back to her frozen girlfriend. All she had to do was touch her in order to unfreeze her. And that's what she did. Chloe was startled and gasped as she got unfrozen.

"Jesus, Max! Wha-"

"Chloe, calm down, okay? It's happening again. Sooner than I expected."

"What the fuck are you doing, Max?! Why do you keep freezing time?!"

"I don't know, okay?! I'm not even trying to freeze time! It's like were in some kind of time glitch or something."

"Speaking of glitch, look up ahead."

Chloe pointed out to an intersection where cars were passing by, but the cars seemed to be moving back and forth. Very rapidly back and forth. The two of them saw cars zig-zagging in the middle of the intersection. There was a city bus that appeared to be picking people up that moved slowly and rapidly back and forth. They both walked up to their side of the crosswalk to get a closer look.

"Wowser."

"Okay, this is hella weird. We're all frozen in time and now there's glitches. How is this even happening? And how are we supposed to get across the street when those cars can't make up their mind where they want to pause?"

Max waved her hand in the direction one of the cars moving and it froze. Maybe she could freeze one the cars to get across. The car broke itself out of stasis continuing to move back and forth. Max knew by manipulating the cars in stasis at the right time, it would be the only way to get across.

"Well, if we're gonna get across, I'm gonna need to pause those cars at the right time. Ladies first?"

Chloe frowned at her girlfriend as if it were a stupid question.

"And by ladies, I mean one of us," Max corrected herself. "You first?"

"After everything you've done for me for the past week, you'd want me to go first?"

"I'll pause the car moving back and forth at right time, then you run as fast as you can."

"Whatever doesn't get me killed, Max-Pad. I'm in."

"After you."

Chloe took a few steps further up to the crosswalk getting ready to make a run for it. She positioned herself where she needed to be in order to get past the time glitch.

"Ready when you are!"

"On my mark!"

When the car moving back and forth was away from Chloe's window, Max instantly froze the car leaving room for Chloe to run.

"Go!

Chloe ran for it and made it past glitch before it unfroze. When Chloe was on the other side of the crosswalk, she called out to Max.

"Made it! Your turn!"

Max got ready to make her move just when Chloe signaled for her turn. When Max got on the crosswalk positioning herself, she immediately froze the time glitch making a run for it. But Max did not just run. Max was slowing down and felt something amplify her body, and then she dashed at supersonic speed barely avoiding the glitch and bumping into her partner in time causing them to collapse and hit the ground.

Max felt her body ache while Chloe felt her back ache from hitting ground so hard from Max's impact toward her. They both slowly got off the ground as time finally resumed itself. The people on the sidewalk continued walking as cars on the streets continued driving. The city bus from the other side of the intersection picked up it's passengers like normal. Everything had returned to normal. Max and Chloe stretched themselves as they got back on their feet. A few people on the sidewalk starred at the two of them getting off the ground as they walked by.

"Max...uh...what the fuck was that?"

Max tried looking for an answer, but since everything happened so quickly, she couldn't. The two of them relieved themselves from their pain. Then Chloe asked her girlfriend again.

"Max, answer me. How did you do that?"

"Chloe...it just so happened...so quickly...so fast, I - I don't even know what to say."

"Max, your starting to freak me out now. I need an answer!"

"I don't know, Chloe! I don't know. Let's keep it down. We're in public. People can hear us."

"All you had to do was just run past that car and then you just dashed. And I almost broke a rib being bumped into."

"You and me both."

They stood there silently for a moment. Max had it with this fucked up day. She knew it was time for them to end their day.

"Chloe, this has got to be the weirdest fucking day of my life. We need to go back to my parents house and put this to rest. Where did we park that truck?"

 **Note: Sorry, if this chapter took longer than usual. I needed some time developing this chapter and cutting a few things out. Seeing how this was a long chapter to write. So far in this episode, Max's powers are advancing. The new powers I'm giving her were inspired by the Xbox One exclusive game Quantum Break. (Another game that inspired me to put something new and innovative in this season.) I only have two more chapters to write. Then, the episode's over. They might be shorter than this chapter. Or maybe not. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time, stay tuned!**

 **P.S. If anyone thinks that saying "great power comes great responsibility" could make a good theme for Life is Strange, show of hands in the reviews.**


	9. We Come As We Are

Chapter 9 Come As We Are

It was going on 3 PM. When Max and Chloe found the truck, they drove their way back to Max's parents house. It had been a long day for them. A very strange one at that. Max especially. The good news was that they never got a parking ticket at the very leat. As Chloe drove her truck behind the wheel, she turned to her girlfriend next to her briefly. The look on Max's face had an uptight frown.

"Max, you okay?" she asked driving her truck. "Max, talk to me. Just say something. You alright?"

"Sure, Chloe," Max replied sarcastically. "I'm just fine. The fact that I just took six-hundred lives for yours, we run away to Seattle like nothing occurred, I have visions of spirit animals and shadows, and now I'm turning into a fucking X-Man who can stupefy time, I'm just A okay!"

"Max, come on. Just chill the fuck out for a moment, okay?!"

"Chill the fuck out for moment?" Max scoffed. "Is that all you got to fucking say? Huh? Is it?"

"Max, I don't know what to tell you, okay?! Shit. You know, I don't like this anymore than you do, but we can figure something out. Keep it between you and me, as always."

"Psft. I'm done keeping it between us. I didn't ask for this shit!"

"Says the girl who tore the photo that was the key to making Chloe Price the martyr of Arcadia Bay!"

"Oh, fuck you, Chloe. I didn't tear that photo just so we can live happily ever after and kiss Arcadia Bay goodbye. I did it so we could forget about my power and forget last week ever happened! Forget every fuck up I set ourselves up for ever happened!"

"Well, it has happened, Max! Live with it, okay?! You and I both know we wanted to reestablish our relationship from the very beginning. Not since the day you first saved me, but since the day you left Arcadia Bay. So how could you say you never asked for this shit?"

"I never asked for super powers, Chloe. I never asked to be a She-Marty McFly with a Flux Capacitor for a heart and a time circuit for brain. All I ever I asked for was normal life between you and I. Better yet, I never asked to see you get buried with William so young. Your Joyce and David's only child you know. Your Joyce's only offspring to give birth to grandchild when your older. Your death would've been just as devastating to them as it would to me."

"That has never been proven more true to me than it has now, Max. You're the only reason I'm still walking on this planet and sucking air while we're still together. And now, my parents get to see me again, as well. If they ever knew about your power, they'd be forever in your debt. And after everything you did for me last week, I now have the chance to redeem myself with my family and atone for my selfishness. Because of you...and only you."

"You tell me that I've delayed your destiny so constantly, that time just so happens to want you dead. Instead, Arcadia Bay parishes because of my defiance in destiny. I've been asking myself until now, is my power a gift to bring about hope or a curse to bring about chaos?"

"The word I'd be searching for, Max, is solution. Your solution to preventing my death, Kate's death, and finding Rachel. You know you never meant for what happened to Arcadia and you know being back together after all those years and last week was all that we've ever anticipated. It's all that matters now."

"Chloe, what happened to Arcadia Bay, it's not happening here."

"The hell it is, Max. There's no storm coming here to destroy Seattle, too. Not by a long-shot."

"Not if I can't keep my powers under control that is."

"Then keep your powers under control. Besides, you should have no other reason to use them anyways."

"Says the girl who's never used them a monotonous amount of times."

"Your the only person I know who knows when and how to use them at your first instinct. You knew the night the storm swept away Arcadia would've been our last day together. But now since we're still together, and half the people of Arcadia Bay made it through the storm alive, there should be nothing more to regret. No other burdens to carry. It's time we make this sacrifice count for both of us."

"This power has costs me a heavy burden on us both. Sometimes, the fact that I've surpassed fate and destiny a countless amount of times, I don't even know what fate and destiny is anymore. Was it ever about what we were meant for or was it about what was supposed to happen? Why did this have to happen to us, Chloe? Why did I get this power? Why did you have to get assaulted in a bathroom by Nathan Prescott at fucking gunpoint where he almost killed you?!"

"I don't know, Max! I really don't, know!"

"Bullshit!"

The two of them remained silent and stopped arguing for a minute or two. Chloe kept her eyes forward on the road angrily while Max folded her arms and stared at her girlfriend angrily until she gave her the correct answer. Within seconds they wiped their angry looks off their faces slightly and Max turned away from her girlfriend assuming she wasn't going to answer. Then Chloe gave Max an answer.

"When I had to pay Frank, I thought I could bribe Nathan a chunk of his cash to pay the debt and guess how that turned out if it weren't for you."

"You're absolutely right, Chloe. We both knew we were in a rock in a hard place that night. I always knew that storm would be the tip of the iceberg. It was either you die a miserable person or live long enough to redeem yourself."

"Isn't that the story of my life."

"The story of my life, Chloe, is that I know my powers weren't given to me for nothing. Weather I asked for them or not. You know I love you, Chloe. I really do."

"I love you too, Max. I've always have. We come as we are."

When Chloe had been forced to offer Max that fatal choice that night, it was like Morpheus from 'The Matrix' offering Max the choice between the blue and the red pill. If Max took the blue pill, Chloe never existed. If Max took the red pill, she starts a new life with Chloe. And so Max chose the red pill, and this was how she was rewarded. Not only preventing a tragedy that never happened, but bring upon the irony of Chloe's redemption.

Max's phone bleeped with another text message from her mother.

 **Mom: Max, Chloe's parents have arrived! They just checked in to a hotel room in the city and they're at our house right now waiting for the two of you.**

 **Max: Thx, mom. They're here early. We're on our way home now. We'll be there soon.**

 **Mom: BTW your father is planning a cookout for everyone this evening. He'll be grilling burgers, hot dogs, and corn on the cobs.**

 **Max: Great! Tell Joyce and David Chloe's safe and sound.**

 **Mom: We will.**

"Chloe, your parents just arrived."

"They what?"

"They're here. Your Mom and Step-Dad just booked a hotel room here and they're at my parents' house right now."

"Already?"

"Yes, already."

"Well, they're here early."

Another text appeared on Max's phone. It was Joyce.

 **Joyce: Max, your parents told us you and Chloe are in the city somewhere. Are you two okay? Where were you two during the storm? We thought we lost you!**

 **Max: We were at the lighthouse watching the storm from a grandstand view. It was terrible! We're on our way back to the house now. How are u?**

 **Joyce: I'm fine. I was able to introduce David to your parents with no problems. I look forward to that cookout your father's prepping for us all!**

 **Max: I as well. See u there!**

 **Joyce: Get here safe!**

"Your Mom just text me. She was wondering where were during the storm. She said David was able to get know my parents without any trouble."

"Well, you know my Step-Dad. He may have trust issues with strangers, but he does try to have the courtesy in getting to know new people."

"I need some music to listen to. None of that crap we listen to on the radio."

"There's some of my Dad's old cassette tapes he used to listen to in the glove compartment. If you want to listen to those."

Max dug inside the glove compartment to find William's old cassette tapes. He had a lot of cassette tapes from a bunch of 80's rock artist.

"These are all 80's rock music groups. Twisted Sister, Guns & Roses, Def Leppard..."

"My Dad used to be a rock junkie in his day as I am. I usually listen to Ratt or Bon Jovi and even some Motley Crue. You gotta listen to them if you've never have."

Max then glanced at one tape with a familiar name.

"David Bowie. Huh? Wasn't he in a very creepy kids movie with a lot of creepy puppetry? Was that name of that movie?"

"Labyrinth?"

"Labyrinth. Uh, that movie used to creep the shit outta me as little kid."

"You want a movie that used to creep the shit outta me as a kid, watch The Dark Crystal or The Neverending Story. Dark Crystal is nothing but a puppetry fueled nightmare even worse than watching the Muppets."

"Speaking of Muppets, didn't the creator of the Muppets help make the puppetry for Dark Crystal and Labyrinth? What was his name, dammit. Something Henson.

"Jim Henson?"

"Jim Henson. Anything made by that guy, you know it's gonna be creepy as shit. Hope you don't mind if I pop this cassette in."

"Suit yourself, Max. You wanted to listen to something not on the radio. I really don't mind if we listen to some David Bowie."

Max inserted the cassette tape in Chloe's radio set on the dashboard and played it. The song that was being played was 'Heroes' by David Bowie. The two of them were able to listen to some of the songs on the tape the rest of the way.

From here on out, as long as the integrity of Max and Chloe's relationship remained and Chloe got to see her family again, there would always be hope brought upon themselves by Max's own hand. Max had thought to herself. Should anyone know about Max's power the way Chloe had up until now? If so, would anyone else believe her or be convinced as Chloe first had back at the diner? The one bottom line question still remained. Was Max's power given all for nothing or was she meant for this gift to keep for lifetime holding the line for Chloe? Better yet, had the storm been controllable or inevitable and what was the new vision of the shadow about? For as long as these questions remained unanswered, Max would always keep asking more questions.

 **Note:**

 **So I said the next chapters would be shorter and they would. I also said I only had two more chapters to go. Let's just say I only have three more chapters to go as of right now and forgive me if I haven't kept my word, but I'll get this episode done ASAP.**

 **Another thing, I was thinking of was cramming a majority of the end of this episode down in this chapter so I would have ten chapters. Turns out I'm gonna have twelve. Until next time, stay tuned!**

 **In Memory of**

 **David Bowie**

 **1947-2016**


	10. Truce

Chapter 10 The Truce

Max and Chloe made it back to Max's neighborhood. Before Chloe could pull her truck over to the driveway of Max's home, she noticed David's car had been parked to the side of the road next to the front yard of Max's house. Signifying Chloe's parents had arrived.

"There goes David's car," Chloe pointed out as soon as she parked the truck on the driveway.

"Let's just hope David's been getting along with my parents as William had," said Max.

After parking the truck to a complete stop, they got out of the vehicle, carried their shopping bags, and made their way to the front door. As they walked through the door and put their shopping bags aside, they saw David and Joyce talking to Ryan and Vanessa in the living room. When Joyce caught her daughter and Max on sight still breathing and walking on this Earth, she smiled with relief. Chloe then smiled back.

"Chloe!"

"Mom!"

The two of them hugged each other tightly.

"We thought we ya'll during the storm," said Joyce looking at her daughter in the eye.

"You too, Mom," said Chloe. "I'm just so glad we get to see each other again."

"Hey, Joyce," said Max. Joyce turned to Max and gave her a hug, as well.

"Max, oh it's great to see the two of you still breathing."

"Chloe, thank goodness you're okay," David said walking up to Chloe. Without hesitating, Chloe hugged her Step-Father despite their bad relationship. David was more than proud to his Step-Daughter alive and well and not killed in action.

"Thanks to Max I am," said Chloe. "You only have her to thank for that."

David turned to Max who smiled with gratitude and shook his head.

"Nice to see you again, David," Max said.

"As you were, Max," he said. "So, what's the two of yours' angle on this adventure to Seattle?"

"Me and Chloe were just out to mall shopping and took a nice walk in the park downtown. That's what friends do."

"Shopping, huh? With who's money?"

"My Dad's money."

David turned to Max's parents who were joining in on the conversation.

"Ryan, Vaness, could me, Chloe, and your daughter Max have a private discussion upstairs?"

"Why," Vanessa asked.

"David, honey, we talked about this," said Joyce.

"Joyce, I have to this. For Chloe's sake. Even for Max's."

"Great," Chloe scoffed. "Another one of David's-"

"Chloe," David began, cutting her off. "I would really hate it if we embarrassed each other in front of your Mother, Max, and even her parents. So, I would drop it before you start it, right now."

"David," Ryan began. "If you've got to speak somewhere private, me and my wife don't have a problem with that. Upstairs is the perfect place to do it. Just do what you got to."

"You heard my Dad, Chloe," said Max. "We can talk in my room or something."

"Fine," replied Chloe. "Whatever keeps us out of trouble. I'm all ears."

Max, Chloe, and David went upstairs to Max's room to talk. Once they got in, David shut the door behind them and began to speak.

"Chloe, I think it's about time we start talking to each other like real family."

"David, if this one of your 'I haven't been the best Father' kind of speeches, spare me."

"Chloe," Max began.

"Chloe, for once in your piss poor, selfish, and stubborn life, grow up and listen to my voice. That's an order."

"Fine, I'm listening."

David cleared his throat.

"I was just like you when I was your age. I had a lousy Father. A lousy childhood. No Mother, and I got into a lot of mischief as you always had. I had no sense of discipline whatsoever. Then I was enlisted into the military and started fighting in the war in Afghanistan. Then I retired from the army, married Joyce, and then you came barreling into my life as I came barreling into yours. Since then, I've always asked myself, what do I know about raising a kid? I'm not the kind of man William was. Every now and then, I've always pushed you and you'd always push back."

"What are you getting at, David? You say the same old shit every now and then. What makes what you just said any different?"

"Because you never listen to reason, Chloe. For years, you and I both have put up with it long enough and I always wanted to tell you this at some point, but I could never think of the perfect time to spit it out because you were always more stubborn than General Douglas MacArthur."

"And somehow you've finally come to the point where you can tell because...?"

"Because, Chloe, after everything we've been through, after Max backing you up to throw me out of the house, and after the disaster that's happened in Arcadia Bay with the National Guard coming to town to help us out, it's time I finally let it all come down to me. All I really want is a truce between us."

"Every truce that we've always tried to make fails in every way possible. So far, this is still no different from any other conversation we've had like this before. What is it that you're trying to offer. What's in it for me?"

"Me and your mother have thought about hiring a family counselor or something to set things straight. It's the best we can offer."

"Great, I suppose while you're at it, you'll send me to rehab for my drug addiction, as well?"

"Chloe," Max began. "David is offering something to make your life better. Don't push him back now. Do you even know what kind of opportunity it could be?"

"Max, you've helped me make my life so much easier than David ever could. Why would my parents wait until this moment for me to take that opportunity?"

"Because you said it yourself. You've been so stubborn and selfish, even your Mom had to live through the pain. You take this opportunity now, you and your family can let go of everything. It'll be your best shot at redemption. Your best shot to reconcile. Your best shot to stop feeling sorry for yourself knowing what it's like to wait for your Dad to come home when he never does."

"She's right, Chloe," David stated. "I understand the two of used to be friends during your childhood. Before William passed away. I never knew you had more history than I figured you had. I also understand that the two of you are somehow a thing now and that you kissed each other in Chloe's room.

Max and Chloe's faces turned pale. They were a little nervous about being in trouble for what Chloe dared Max to do that day.

"I...beg your pardon, David," said Max.

"Look, the two of you are not in trouble, okay? All I want is the truth. Max, your parents tell you've actually hooked up with Chloe. I'm not upset. All I want is a yes or no."

 **X/SQUARE - YES**

 **B/CIRCLE - NO**

"Yes, David," replied Max. "We hooked up."

"Surprised to see that your taking the more lighter approach compared to your typical soldier boy approach, as usual," said Chloe.

"Chloe," David began. "I'm done playing the soldier boy."

"That's new," said Chloe.

"Ever since I first saw Max in your room, and when Max interfered with my argument with Kate, and when Max helped you and Joyce kick me out of house, and when I saw that you actually cracked the Rachel Amber case Chloe had tried to do for months, I realized the two of you make a good unit. You both deserve each other."

"Yeah," replied Max. "Also when I realized when you hurt my classmates, and hit my girlfriend right in front of me, guess that just the perks of being an over-disciplined head of security. Let alone Step-Father."

"And maybe if you wouldn't have been so busy being such a paranoid Father who does nothing but take pictures of students and put surveillance cams all over house..."

"Chloe," David began. "From here on out, family's more important than my paranoia. All I ever tried to do was protect you and Joyce. Even if I was sidetracked. But that's the problem, isn't it. After I left the house, after the storm, the one thing Joyce never wanted was to lose you the way she lost William. You're my number one priority now. You're all that matters to me."

"Max once said as you did," said Chloe. "And you're absolutely right. Losing my Dad is shitty enough for my Mom. You have Max to thank for avoiding all of that. She's protected me more than you ever could. Like a friend. Like a lover. Like family."

"She's right, you know," Max stated. "Perhaps we've been a little to hard on you than you have been hard us. I think we've all earned this kind of truce you want to make with us."

"Then so be it," said David. "I have misjudged you, Max. You have my blessing for Chloe."

"Blessing," Chloe questioned. "For what?"

"For being together. Joyce likes seeing the two of you back together after five years of being apart. Thing or no thing. So...truce?"

David placed his hand in front of Max ready to shake her hand. And so Max shook hands with David.

"Truce," she said.

David turned to his Step-Daughter hoping to find some forgiveness in her and held his hand in front of her, too.

"Truce," he asked.

Chloe hesitated. She had no clue if this truce was worth it to her. Chloe had never been any good at getting along with David her whole life. If she were to accept David's truce, would it be an oath or an affirmation. Either way, what better time than now for Chloe and David to reconcile. Before Chloe could accept his truce, this is what she had to say.

"Before I shake your hand...I...I-"

"Chloe, you know it's right thing to do," said Max turning to Chloe.

Chloe had turned back to her girlfriend briefly. Knowing Max was by her side only trying to support both herself and her Step-Father. Chloe then turned back to David taking a deep breath.

"Okay," she began. "Before we shake hands...I just want you to know, no matter what I've said or what I've done to push you, I-" Chloe was just about to break down until she snapped out of it. "I couldn't have asked for a better Father. Even if you're not the Father William was. Joyce needs you. I need you. You need me. Truce."

Chloe shook her Step-Father's hand accepting his truce. Then David tried to say something he was to afraid to say.

"Chloe, I - You know I love you. Even if you don't say I love you, too. Which you never have. So...we can hug on it if you want to."

They both frowned and Chloe decided to hug on it. She hugged David in every forgiving way possible. As Chloe and David wrapped their arms around each other, Chloe shed a tear realizing how unconditionally David loved her and how selfish she had been to him all those years. Chloe looked at him in the eye and said this.

"David, I- I-." Chloe had hesitated about what to say, but she couldn't debate her true feelings for David. She had never been this emotionally sorry for David her whole life. She hugged him tightly again. Then immediately looking at him in the eye again.

"As much as it hurts me to say it, I love you, too. I don't want you to leave Joyce. I shouldn't have let Max make you leave. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, Chloe. I should be the one who's sorry. I'm the only person who's such a bad influence on you and your Mother, until now. We both have done illegal shit around the house. We're both a pain in each other's ass. We both deserve each other."

"You know, how 'bout this. I stop smoking. I stop feeling sorry for myself all time how my life is nothing but 'poor me'. I let go of all of that and we can both change. I'll be a more respectful Daughter. I'll be less of a stoner. And I'll have more ambition in my life like I always should've. I promise."

"Let's not make any promises we won't be able to keep, Chloe. I spoke with your Mother and told her that I'd control my trust issues, take down the surveillance equipment in the house, and start worrying about family more than playing Mr. Blackwell detective at Blackwell."

"Is that what you'll do in return if I start making any changes?"

"Certainly. Deal?"

"Deal."

David shook Chloe's hand and patted her shoulder.

"You two behave yourselves."

"We will, David," Max replied.

"Nice room you've got here by the way, Max. I should compare it to Chloe's."

"Thanks, David. Chloe already told me how my room is better than hers. I've had five years in Seattle to put it all together."

David smiled. And then, made his way out of Max's room. Just when David exited the room, Ryan had entered.

"Max, Chloe, you okay," he asked.

"We're fine, Dad. Chloe got a little emotional with the conversation we had with David. But, we're cool."

"Anyway, I was gonna get started on the grill for the cookout. I'm cooking hotdogs and burgers. What'll be for you, Max?"

"I already had a burger at the mall today. I'll have a hotdog."

"Chloe?"

"I'll take a burger. Me and Max ate some Burger King today at the mall, but had an order of chicken fries."

"Alright, then. You two enjoy yourselves. Food should be done in about an hour in a half or so."

Ryan walked out of Max's room. Chloe and Max sat on the bed. Max put her hand on Chloe's shoulder.

"Chloe, what you said to David was brave. You should be proud of yourself."

"Max, I'm so glad you decided to spare my life. My parents really do need me alive just as much as you do. Even if there's not very many people living in Arcadia Bay as there was before."

"That is one of many reasons I destroyed the town for you, Chloe. You needed this opportunity to live long enough to redeem yourself. Not die a miserable person. You really are all that matters to me as well as everyone else that cares about you."

"You know what I think, Max. We neee something to put our minds off of what happened today. Got anything else in your room that might entertain us?"

"Hey, I think I still have my old Playstation somewhere in my closet."

"You still have it?"

"Yeah, the original Playstation that I got when I was four years old. I think I got a game or two that we can play for it, too."

"Wow, you've actually had that old of a gaming console for that long, Max?"

"You know it. Let's go dig for it. Shall we?"

 **Note:**

 **We sheddin' tears yet? I know I was when I was writing their truce in this chapter. After all, this is what happens when you sacrifice the bay and not the bae. Chloe sees her family again and Max gives her a second chance not just to be with Max herself longer, but to live long enough to earn her redemption.**

 **This took me a couple of day to write not just to develop the truce they have with each other, but I was also watching some events, gameplays, and reveal trailers from E3. I also got to see the reveal trailer for Dontnod's new IP, Vampyr. And no, there were no LIS Season 2 announcements at E3 for those who haven't kept track.**

 **Anyway, only two more chapters to go and the first episode's complete! Until next time, stay tuned!**


	11. Family Gathering

Chapter 11 Family Gathering

Max found her Playstation stuffed somewhere in her closet. When she found it, there was dust on it and Max had to blow it off.

 _"Wowser, hard to believe I haven't even touched this in a trillion years. Welcome to the good old days, Max."_

"Hey, look at this, Max," said Chloe who found a case with Playstation games. "I think I just found some hella entertainment at retrospect."

"Wowser, Chloe. Now I just gotta hook up this bad boy to the TV and we can play whatever we want."

Chloe looked through Max's collection of games while Max plugged her console in.

"You gotta a hella collection of games, Max. 'Mega Man X6', 'Final Fantasy VII', 'Metal Gear Solid', 'Resident Evil 2', 'Chrono Cross', 'Castlevania: Symphony of the Night', 'Rayman' - Gasp. Max, look!"

"What?!"

"Crash Bandicoot!"

"Oh, yeah! That used to be one of my favorite games!"

"Wanna play?"

"I don't know, Chloe. Do you? I bet you can't beat my high score!"

"Oh, I think I can!"

"We'll see about that."

Max plugged the controller in, popped the game disk inside the console, handed the controller over to Chloe, and turned on the Playstation.

"Okay, Max. Watch and learn."

"Oh, I'm watching. But not learning."

The two of them sat on the bed across from the TV screen. A Playstation logo appeared on screen as the game was loading.

"What's taking so long," Chloe asked.

"It's gotta load," replied Max.

Then another logo appeared on screen saying:

 **SONY**

 **COMPUTER**

 **ENTERTAINMENT**

"This is taking too long," Chloe complained.

"You gotta be patient," Max insisted.

Then the title screen appeared with the title's letters arranging themselves one by one and a cartoon fox-like character appearing on screen.

"Ah, finally," exclaimed Chloe. "Crash Bandicoot. Now how do I play?"

"Okay, Chloe. Before you press start, this is how you play. First off, you have to press down on the d-pad to move. Then you press the x button to jump and either the square button to spin around."

"Okay, so, how do I start?"

"Hit the start button."

Chloe did what she was told. Then the first level of the game began. The Crash character appeared on screen as soon as the level started and the game began.

"Now what," Chloe asked.

"Move towards the screen," Max answered. "Make sure you get all the fruit if you want to beat my score."

"You know that doesn't look to much like a bandicoot. Looks more like an fox."

"It's a bandicoot. Do you even know what they look like?"

"They're not orange. That's for sure."

"It's a video game, Chloe. It can be whatever it wants to be."

Chloe moved her playing character towards the screen collecting all the fruit. The was a HUD on the top left-side corner of the screen which counted all the fruits on the screen as well as a timer on the top center and a life counter on the top right-side corner. While Chloe played through the level, she had to avoid some obstacles along the way. She had to smash a few crates carrying fruit, jump over chasms, and run away from boulders.

"Don't forget that to press square to break those crates," said Max.

"Why would I need to do that," asked Chloe.

"So you can get some more fruit. Unless you don't want to beat my high score."

"Okay, okay. I'll do it."

Chloe spun her character around and smashed a few crates. Then accidentally fell into a pit.

"Oh, what?"

"Watch out for the pits. Jump over them."

"How do I jump, again?"

"Press x."

The game restarted from it's checkpoint and Chloe made sure to jump whenever she needed to. At one point in the level, a boulder came down rolling towards Chloe's playing character.

"Is that a boulder? What is this, Raiders of the Lost Ark?"

Max hummed the Indiana Jones theme as Chloe made her attempt at outrunning the boulder with her playing character.

"Ha ha, Max. And I thought I was such a dork."

"You still are."

Chloe made it to the end of the level as the boulder was stopped in it's tracks.

"Made it! Now, let's if I beat your score."

The Crash character appeared on the level scoreboard comparing Max's score to Chloe's. The best score was Max's score. The level score was Chloe's score.

 **COMPLETION BONUS: 1000**

 **WUMPA FRUIT BONUS: 0090**

 **TIME BONUS: 0552**

 **LIVES BONUS: 0500**

 **LEVEL BONUS: 2142**

 **BEST SCORE: 3500**

The Crash character made a very sad expression for not beating the best score and the game made a buzzing noise like getting the wrong answer in 'Jeopardy'.

"What? That's it? It's over? Already?"

"Oh, come on Chloe. You can kick ass at Guitar Hero, but you suck ass at Crash Bandicoot?"

"Shut up, hipster."

"Come on. Double or nothing. Best out of three? Best out of five?"

"Really? We're gonna start the smack talk now?"

"You know you were just playing on easy and I can change the difficulty higher if you'd like me, too?"

"Keep talking, hippy. Just keep on talking."

"Or what? What are you gonna do?"

"I'm warning you, Max. I'm warning you."

"Tell me, what are you gonna do? What can you do in real life?"

"I'll show you what I can do in real life!"

"Chloe, stop!"

"This what I can do in real life!"

"Chloe, stop! I'm ticklish!"

"I bet you are!"

Chloe hovered over Max and pinned her down against the bed giving her a tickle. Making her giggle out loud. Chloe grinned at her girlfriend holding her arms tight as she grinned back. Chloe stopped tickling Max and they both smiled.

"Always knew you were still ticklish. Even for someone who's eighteen."

"Oh, Chloe, sometimes you make me feel like so young. You make me feel like a kid again."

"That makes both of us. Even now as we run away from Arcadia Bay and we move on from the past week, you still know how to show me your love and friendship."

"Right back at ya. Hard to believe it was only last Monday we got back together and finished what we started."

As the bluenette punk was still hovering above the brunette hipster. They smiled with the late afternoon sun beaming towards them, romantically. Eventually, the gay couple pressed their lips against one another's for a second or two and kissed.

"I love you, Chloe."

"I love you, too, Max."

"You know what, I think I may have something else in my closet that could be a lot more fun than playing Crash Bandicoot."

"Which is what?"

"I'll show you."

Chloe released Max from being pinned on the bed letting Max walk up to the closet. Max opened her closet digging for something her and Chloe could play with.

"So, Mad Max, exactly what could be more fun compared to beating your high score?"

As soon as Max found what she was looking for, Chloe's eyes went wide as soon as Max turned around with two stick in her hands.

"Care for a lightsaber duel?"

"Wow, Max. I didn't know you were a Star Wars person."

"Occasionally, I used to play lightsaber fights with my friends I made in here in Seattle. I'll take that as yes, young padawan. One of these lightsabers is blue. Your favorite color."

Max handed the lightsaber over to Chloe and she flickered her toy lightsaber with a plastic blue blade sticking out of it. She then waved her lightsaber around and posed herself with it.

"Draw," expressed Chloe.

Max drew her toy lightsaber blade with a purple pinkish blade sticking out and posed herself with it.

"I see that you have Sam Jackson's lightsaber, Master Max," said Chloe.

"Sam Jackson's color is my color, Master Chloe," said Max.

 **PRESS X/SQUARE TO SWING**

 **PRESS Y/TRIANGLE TO LEFT BLOCK**

 **PRESS B/CIRCLE TO RIGHT BLOCK**

Chloe made the first move to swing her lightsaber as Max blocked it a couple times. Then Max swung her lightsaber around making her move at Chloe as she blocked Max's lightsaber, as well. They circled around the room while playing with their lightsabers to act out a real lightsaber duel. Then locked their lightsabers together like a real lightsaber fight.

"The force is hella strong with this one, Jedi Max," said Chloe holding her lightsaber onto Max's.

"You can't win, Chloe," said Max locking her lightsaber onto Chloe's as tight as she could. "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

The two released themselves from their lightsaber lock and hit their lightsabers a couple more times. Then Chloe tried to pretend to perform a force power as seen in Star Wars.

"Force lightning!"

Chloe thrust her fingers in the air pretending to electrocute Max. Max pretended to be electrocuted by Chloe and they both laughed. Then Max tried to perform another force power from Star Wars.

"Force push!"

But as soon as Chloe pretended to be pushed by the force, Max had accidentally trapped her in a time bubble when she thrust her hand towards her girlfriend. Max had gasped. Now Chloe was stuck in a time stasis like a statue posed with a lightsaber.

 _"Oh, fuck! Not here. Not now. Not this again!"_

Max had panicked. Hoping what she did would wear off. Then Max looked at her left arm. A strange illuminating strobe effect had been visible to her left arm. Max frowned and observed what was happening.

 _"The fuck is this? Is this some kind of energy effect to my power or something? Can this get any fucking stranger?"_

Suddenly, Chloe was freed from her frozen state and resumed pretending to be pushed by the force and hit the floor laughing.

"Max," her Mother called from downstairs. Max gasped turning to wear her Mother's voice was heard. "Is everything okay?! I thought I heard something!"

"Uh, yeah Mom," Max responded nervously. "We're fine! We're just playing around!"

"Max, you okay," Chloe asked getting off the floor. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Chloe had noticed the strobe effect on Max's arm and panicked. She set her lightsaber aside to take a look at what was wrong.

"Max, what happened? What is that? What did you do? What did you do?!"

"I accidentally froze you, okay?! Keep it down! My parents can hear us from downstairs."

Max set her lightsaber aside just to explain to Chloe. Then the strobe effect dissolved from Max's arm.

"Max, what going on? How did you accidentally freeze me? And why was whatever the hell that was on your arm on your arm?"

"First of all, every time I thrust my hand towards things, they stop in it's tracks. Like earlier when I had to stop those cars from moving when time was breaking itself apart. Second, whatever was on my arm was probably just another side effect from my powers like my nose bleeds."

"Jesus, Max. You gotta keep this under control. Especially, when we're at your parents' house and if either your parents or my parents find out about this, they would freak out."

"That's the problem now isn't it? What if they do find out? Then what? I rewind and make sure they don't know?"

"Either that, or they take you to a nuthouse or anywhere else they can lock you up so you don't use your powers."

"Oh, I see. So your telling me that they'll send me to a cuckoo house where they can cure this thing and do away with my powers? You know how stupid that sounds? Do you?"

"Max, the best advice I have to offer right now is to probably keep in mind not to go thrusting your hand in the air or whatever and maybe no one else can know about your powers. Does that make better sense now?"

"I guess, Chloe. Unfortunately, that'll only be more easier said than done considering that I'm so used to just rewinding time and I'm new to stopping time. I just have to get used to my new powers as I did with my old."

"Well, good luck with that, Max. I can't keep your powers under control. Only you can. Better yet, never using them excessively to the point where they set up another storm that could be out to get us."

"Max! Chloe! Foods ready!" Ryan called out from downstairs.

"Coming!" Max responded.

"Well, that our cue, Max," said Chloe. "Come on, all this talk about time powers is making me hungry."

It was going on 5:30 PM. Ryan had already finished grilling the hot dogs and patties. The table in the backyard patio had been set up with food prepped for the cookout. There were hot dog buns and burger buns with wieners for the hot dogs and patties for the burgers stashed on the table, as well as corn on the cobs that Ryan made. There were also fix-ins for the hot dogs and burgers, too. Such as, ketchup, mustard, barbeque sauce, onions, relish, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.

Max, Chloe, and their parents all sat down on the table enjoying their food. Max sat across from where Chloe was sitting who sat next to Joyce and David while Max sat next to Vanessa and Ryan. Max never liked any relish or onions or whatnot on her hotdog like her Father had. All that Max had on her hotdog was just ketchup and mustard. Chloe liked more stuff on her food, however. She put a little ketchup, mustard, onions, tomatoes, and even relish on her burger with a little bit of lettuce. Chloe also had the option to put pickles on her burger, but she preferred relish over that.

"Damn, Ryan," said Chloe. "I haven't had a cookout this good since my Dad's last cookout before he died."

"You read my, Chloe," said Joyce. "To be honest, Ryan, I always knew you were the kind of cook William was."

"If it's all the same to you, Joyce," Ryan began. "I guess I was also the kind of Father and Husband William was, too. No hard feelings."

"None taken," she replied.

"So, Max," Vanessa began. "We heard about that one incident with you and that girl attempting suicide on the roof of Blackwell. We never told you how brave that was."

"I know, Mom," Max replied. "You won't have to tell me twice."

"And that's why I call her Super Max," said Chloe.

"Yeah, she's a real hero," said David as he once said before in Principal Wells' office.

"Max," Ryan began. "There's something your Mother and I wanted to talk about. But, we're not sure if we want to say it now."

"Why wouldn't you want to say it now," Max asked.

"Ryan please," Vanessa pleaded. "Let's not talk about it now."

"Vanessa, the sooner said, the better."

"Do we have to say it in front of David and Joyce? Even Chloe?"

"Vanessa, we're fine," said Joyce. "We can hear it out. If it's that serious, then why don't we just enjoy the food, instead. Maybe it can wait."

"Joyce, I appreciate your understanding," said Ryan. "But, maybe if me and Vaness could say this now, Max might not be as upset."

"What do you mean upset," Max asked.

Ryan looked at his daughter concerned. Then Max turned to Chloe and they both had concerned looks on their faces. Then Ryan had made up his mind.

"Vanessa, do mind breaking it to Max assuming no one else does?"

"Okay," she began.

 _"Oh, boy,"_ Max said to herself. _"Why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna like this."_

Vanessa turned to her daughter sitting next to her and started talking.

"Max, you may not like what I'm about to say, but that doesn't mean you have to agree with it and we don't expect you to."

"Mom, what are you saying? Exactly what is it I'm not going to agree with?"

"Max, your Father and I have only been thinking about your future in becoming a photographer. Now that Arcadia Bay's become a militarized zone in the aftermath of a tornado disaster and your school's become a sanctuary for the homeless, the sick, and the wounded, we were thinking about getting you educated back here in Seattle somewhere."

"What?"

Chloe was stunned to hear what Vanessa had to say and felt like frog entered her spine.

"Which means you may have to stay here with us again and-"

"...and leave Chloe behind again? No. The hell I am."

"Oh, no," Chloe whined covering her face with her hands.

"Oh, way to go, Mom," Max spat. "Nice going. Thanks a lot. You just had to say that in front of my girlfriend now. Did you?"

"Maxine Caulfield, you watch the way you talk to your Mother. Right now."

"Vanessa, please," Joyce interfered. "We don't have to fight about it, okay? Why did any of you have to bring it up when we all could've enjoyed ourselves?"

"Well isn't this just great," Chloe complained. "Just when I thought my life couldn't get any shittier."

"Chloe Price, you watch that mouth of yours," Joyce warned. "You stay out of this!"

"Stay out of this? Is that all you have to say? I've lost my Dad. I've lost Rachel. And now Max to leave me behind again?!"

"Everyone, can we just chill out, okay," Ryan demanded. "Sorry if we had to bring it up so inconveniently, but we had to tell her eventually.

"If I had anything to do with it, Ryan, I wouldn't have brought this up now," suggested David.

"No, she not leaving me," Chloe spat. "No, she's hella not! You can't take her from me!"

"Chloe, don't you start," warned David.

"There the one's who started it. Not me."

"You don't get to decide if Max stays or not."

"Don't you get it? I love Max so much, don't you think five years from being split from her is enough for me to handle?"

"Both of you, lighten up," demanded Joyce. "This is it. This has nothing to do with us. This is between Max and her parents. Am I right, Ryan?"

"Yes," he replied. "You are most certainly right, Joyce. In fact, we letting Max make the decision."

"Excuse me," Vanessa questioned.

"You said it yourself, Vanessa. We only want what's best for Max."

"That doesn't mean she should decide. We agreed Max is better off here with us than in some disaster zone that's now Arcadia Bay. Even if she has to leave her friend behind. You think she'd be better off there?"

"Leaving her friend behind is the problem now, isn't it? I'm not gonna let her agree to disagree."

"I think there are more important things than her thing with Chloe. I think I'm gonna let her."

"You think that's sounds fair to our daughter? Cut her some slack. Let her either agree or disagree. She can't do both."

 **X/SQUARE - AGREE**

 **B/CIRCLE - DISAGREE**

"Listen everyone, okay?! I don't agree, alright?! In fact, I love Chloe more than I love photography! As much as I like to think about my future, I'd be thinking about her as well. Me and Chloe have been through a pretty messed up week since we got back together. I save Kate from falling down the roof, I find out that the junkyard is Rachel's tomb, I save Chloe's life a dozen times, and now a twister drops in and destroys the town. How can I leave Chloe now just when I got her back?"

"Max Caulfield, think about what you just said," said Vanessa.

"Oh, I think I've thought plenty, Mom. You have no idea how emotionally twisted of a week it has been for me and her. For the first time, I realize how much she means to me. I have helped Chloe in so many ways you couldn't understand. Me and her deserve a little more reestablishment than just one week together. So no, Mom. I'm not staying here. There's nothing for me here. That's why you sent me back to Arcadia from the get-go. Bottom line, I'm not leaving Chloe. Ever. Period."

Vanessa frowned at her daughter as her daughter frowned back. Vanessa turned to Chloe who raiser her eyebrows at Vanessa. Then turned back to Max still frowning at her mother. Vanessa folded her arms.

"Fine," she said. "If you think Chloe's more important to you than your future, be my guest. Anyone agree with Max, show of hands."

Max turned to everyone else. Chloe was the first to put her hand up. Then Joyce, then David, then Ryan. At this point, Vanessa felt outnumbered the same way David felt outnumbered when Max had sided with Chloe about him leaving.

"Welcome to my world, Vanessa," said David with sympathy. "I know what it's like to be overrun in the battlefield as well as by the people around you."

"Then so be it," Vanessa sighed. "Enjoy your meals. I'm not hungry."

"Where are you going," asked Ryan.

"Somewhere where family doesn't feel like a battlefield."

 **Note:**

 **So was that not a well written argument scene or what? That one scene in the beginning of the chapter where Max and Chloe play Crash Bandicoot was all inspired by the scene in Uncharted 4 where Nate and Elena play some Crash. I only wrote it in because I ran out of ideas for something else the two of them could play. I could make Max's favorite game Crash Bandicoot if I wanted to. Which I did. Also, who says Max and Chloe can't have a lightsaber duel?**

 **Eeeh! Only one more chapter to go and my first episode is complete! Until next time, stay tuned for Episode 1: Resurgence to conclude!**

 **P.S. Expect the last chapter to uncover another terribly unforeseen future worse than the tornado!**


	12. Now It Begins

Chapter 12 Now It Begins

It was 6:10 PM. The sun was setting down all across Seattle ending the afternoon and beginning the evening. Max and Chloe sat on the lawn chairs set up on the patio where they had the cookout. Joyce and David had left the house back to their hotel. Vanessa and Ryan were back in the house debating what they'll do for Max. As the gay couple sat down relaxed, they drank some soda cans Ryan had leftover from the cookout gazing at the sundown.

Chloe had been relieved how Max stood up against her mother like how Max stood up against David the week before. Max's loyalty for Chloe ran deep the closer they got. Killing half the good people of Arcadia Bay for the sake of Chloe's life was not only an act of genocide, but also loyalty to keep an oath Max always vowed to herself since her reunion with the one person she swore to always be with forever. The question was, had Chloe completely surpassed and dethroned her rendezvous with death for good or was her terrible destiny still imminent even now?

"It's been a hella long day. Hasn't it, Max? We go to the Mall. Do some shopping. Take a walk in the park. Screw around with time and space. And now, go full on 'Fight Club' with your Mom."

"I'm not sure about 'Fight Club', but I'll take it." Max sighed. "You know, Chloe; between giving your life for the greater good and killing 600 people for my personal desire, I took no pity with my personal desire for giving you a second chance at life. You know that, right?"

"You've said that before and you've said it again, Max. I don't even know what's left for me to say. Still wondering what we're gonna do about your powers."

"I once said my powers might not last. Then you said that we would. Forever. Since then, it's almost as if it were an oath you swore to me. And until now, I made sure that oath was left unbroken with the help of my powers. Although, I was wrong about my powers not lasting. And now they're getting stronger after a disaster of supernatural proportions I set up for everyone."

"I know. Somehow I haven't even forgotten about saying what I said a week from then. And it did feel like an oath from the start." Chloe took a sip from her soda. "What should we do tomorrow? If we ever go out again?"

"Well, we could get ourselves some books from Barn's & Nobles to read or maybe go to the Woodland Park Zoo."

Ryan came out of the house for a brief moment from the patio doors.

"Max," he called.

"Yes, Dad. What is it," Max responded.

"Your school just called. They said they won't be able to reopen Blackwell 'till sometime in January. I talked to your Mother about it and she was relieved. So, you don't need to stay here with us."

"Really! Does that mean-"

"Yes, Max. That's exactly what it means."

"Hella amazeballs!" exclaimed Chloe with a smile on her face.

Max giggled and gave Chloe a hug.

"By the way, Chloe," continued Ryan. "Your parents called and said they'll be staying here for the rest of the week. Then you have to come home with them and you can take Max with you."

"Thanks, Ryan," replied Chloe. "I'll take back what I said earlier."

"You don't have to take back anything, Chloe. No one blames you."

"Maybe I should take back what I said before," insisted Max. "I never meant blow up in front of Mom like that. I was just trying to defend myself and Chloe."

"Max, your Mother and I both know how much Chloe means to you. We always have. There's really nothing to apologize for. You too enjoy yourselves."

Ryan walked back inside the house. Max glanced at her girlfriend sitting next to her who had the same satisfying look on Max's face.

"A toast," began Chloe holding her can up. "In honor of our everlasting mosh pit."

"Amen."

They both raised their cans toward theirs and drank from them.

"Wowser, Chloe. We kick ass don't we?"

"Hella, yeah. We sure showed your Mom. Like we once did with Step-Daddio. We sure make a hella good team."

"Sometimes my Mom can be like David. Stubborn, hypocritical, cynical, and even a little abusive."

"Abusive? You mean she's hit you before."

"Yeah, unfortunately she has. Not anymore though. I don't think my Mom has the same kind of guts David does. I know how much you always hated his."

"That is true, Max. I think your Mom is a more lighthearted person than David is. That much I know."

"You think Rachel might've like it here in Seattle?"

"She would've preferred Los Angeles or San Francisco over this. The kind of places we once tried running away to. But, she wouldn't have minded it here, I suppose."

"Now that Nathan is dead by Jefferson's hand, you think he got what he deserved?"

"Pfff. Totally. I mean, I understand he was Jefferson's puppet and all, but they both had to face the consequences with each other. They both had Rachel's blood on their hands. Why feel sorry for Nathan?"

"I'm not saying I feel sorry for him, I'm saying Jefferson had no right to use him for the things he never asked to do which led him to his downfall. That is what he was forced to do with Rachel as well as Kate. Because they were both victims of the dark room and Nathan was just as much of a victim as the two of them were. I just know that Nathan was once a better kid who couldn't redeem himself. In the end, it destroyed him."

"I'm gonna take a piss. I'll be back in a jiff, Maxi-roo."

Chloe left her seat and went into the house to use the bathroom. Max stayed seated and relaxed on her chair. Then took another sip from her soda as she gazed at the evening sundown.

Max felt another nose bleed and wiped it off with her finger. She was beginning to freak out again. It's almost as if her powers were killing her. Her side effects could be getting worse. Then she saw her strobe effect go through her hand again. Max felt like she was going to pass out again. She could hear ringing in her ears and her vision going blurry. Her side effects had then rendered her unconscious as she shut her eyes and lied down flat on the chair.

Max had slowly woken up lying down a snowy ground. When she got back on her feet, she was confounded by her surroundings. She found herself in a dark woodland with snow on the ground and snowflakes falling around her.

 _"Wowser, where the hell am I now? Is this another one of my visions?"_

The lonely hipster looked around back and forth wondering where to go. She then walked forward assuming her vision would take her somewhere. Then Max had seen her spirit doe from a distance.

 _"Would you look at that. There goes my doe again. Why is it here? Why am I here? Is she trying to show me something? What would it be?"_

Max saw her spirit gallop away and decided to follow it. Where ever it was taking the young hipster, she knew it was guiding her somewhere. Max had to walk up a narrow hill where the doe had already reached the top. Now she had to walk up the hill and make it to the top, as well.

 _"It feels like I'm following the spirit of Bambi's mother in these frozen woods. But this isn't a Disney movie, Max. Nor is it real life. This is only a vision."_

When Max made it to the top, her eyes caught a gargantuan view of a waterfall and a tree the size of the Empire State building from distance. The tree had sparked lightning on it's enormous branches and had a core supporting the top of the tree and was beating like a heart.

 _"Now this is something you don't see everyday."_

Suddenly, Max's vision had flashed into another vision. She gasped as a flash of lightning transitioned her to another vision. This time, she found herself in an urban area she recognized. The familiar place had been blowing winds like a blizzard. The sky was shrouded with dark clouds and was striking lightning.

 _"Portland? Why am I here?"_

Max turned behind her and saw what appeared to be a very tall building with a very wide opening in the sky hovering around it. The skyscraper that Max saw before her appeared to be some kind of research center with a name marked on the building itself that had motto labeled underneath it.

 **CHRYSALIS**

 **THERE AND BACK AGAIN**

A newspaper suddenly flung into Max's face. She quickly grabbed hold of it to keep it from smothering herself and read the date marked on it holding it in front of her.

 _"April 24th, 2014? That's six months from now! What the hell does that even mean?!"_

The paper Max held was released from her grip by the heavy winds. Suddenly, a deep demonic voice was heard from next to where Max had stood.

"Max," the voice called over to her. The voice jumped Max and gasped as she turned towards the same shadow like figure with blue glowing eyes and red-hot chest that she saw in her previous vision.

"The time has come for you to learn," said the shadow with his demonic voice. He had spoken like HAL 9000 on steroids.

"Wha? Who-Who are you?!" Max asked the shadow with a confused look.

"Who I am is of no importance. All that is of importance is what is about to come."

"What?! What's about to come?!"

"Now is not the time to be puzzled, Maxine Caulfield. The end of time is coming. And when that day comes, you must be prepared. Now it begins."

 _"Max! Max, wake up! Max!_ Max!

Max instantly woke up with a gasp and her punk girlfriend strangling her by the arms.

"Max, wake up! What happened? What the hell happened?!"

"Chloe!" Max hugged Chloe tightly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Max, what the fuck is going on now? What happened? Why did you pass out like that again? You're freaking me out now."

"Chloe, just hear me out for one minute," she began releasing Chloe from her arms. "It was another vision, okay? You have to believe me."

"Max, haven't we gone through enough crazy talk for one day, huh? Haven't we?"

"Chloe, you know me. I know you'd believe me. So can you just please hear me out for one minute. Would you?"

"Fine, I'm listening."

"I was in this frozen forest where I saw my spirit again. Then I found myself in Portland where I saw a this humongous hole in the sky hovering over a skyscraper. Then I saw that shadow figure again and tells me that the end of time is coming. Sometime next year. Six months from now. Just tell you believe me. No matter how crazy I sound."

"Max," Chloe began putting her hand by Max cheek. "I'll believe whatever you say. But you have to promise me something. Promise me you'll try to suppress your obsession with your visions and get hold of your time bending, okay? Tell me, do you promise? Do you?"

Max looked at Chloe in the eye worried that she'll make a promise she may never keep. Chloe stared back waiting for an answer. And so Max answered and nodded.

"I promise."

From there on out, Chloe had not forgotten about what Max had promised.

David was smoking a cigarette in the parking lot outside the hotel lobby where him and his wife were staying. He had thought about what he said to his Step-Daughter earlier. He made sure to remember what he told her and not break his promise to be a better person.

Joyce was in the hotel room her and David had rented sitting on the bed and reading a book. She had never thought Max and her daughter would end up being a thing together, but it reminded her of how close they were when they were children as they are close to each other now.

Back in Arcadia Bay, the National Guard had secured the entire town for survivors and patrolled through the town ruins with tanks, Jeeps, trucks, and choppers. There were trucks carrying families, survivors, and wounded back to Blackwell. The place that was being used for sanctuary. Soldiers had set up a perimeter around the school to guard the place and let other soldiers or survivors in. Military vehicles had been parked in the school parking lot. Some of the wounded where be treated and hospitalized inside the school classrooms and the gymnasium while others were camping inside the school. There were also survivors camped in the small park near Blackwell. A majority of the survivors were all camped out on the Bigfoots stadium next to Blackwell. There were tents and trailers fortified all over the football field provided for survivors. There were even deceased placed in body bags in one portion of the camp waiting to be disposed.

Warren was sitting by his trailer where him and his parents stayed set up on the field taking notes for Science class. He still felt bad for punching the shit out of Nathan that afternoon before the 'End of the World' party, but he couldn't blame himself for Nathan dying. Because he knew he had died from getting shot by someone and not suicide.

Victoria and her friends; Taylor and Courtney were in the encampment, as well. Victoria was still feeling sad about Nathan's death and kept covering her face sobbing. Taylor rubbed her shoulder. Courtney held Victoria's hand. Victoria even felt more guilty for bribing Jefferson for going to the contest.

Nathan's body was taken to a morgue and placed on an autopsy table covered under a blanket with a bullet wound to the chest. Nathan's family had arrived to mourn. Nathan's father Sean, his Mother, and older sister Kristine stared at Nathan body dreadfully. Kristine had served Peace Corps in Brazil, but had left when she heard about her brother's death. Nathan's Mother leaned her head by Sean's arms sobbing her eyes out. Sean held his wife tightly feeling the tears wetting his blazer as he starred at his son's corpse on the table with a sorrowful look on his face. He had deeply regretted the one person he trusted with Nathan. That was Mark Jefferson whom he knew shot his own son cold-blooded. Kristine shed a tear through her eye who was just about to break down the way Mrs. Prescott was, but remained calm yet remorseful about her one and only close sibling she ever cared about. The doctor who had finished Nathan's autopsy offered the family his condolences and they accepted it.

Meanwhile, Mark Jefferson had been incarcerated in his prison cell on death row. He sat in his cell wearing his prison jumpsuit staring down at the floor. Thinking about what he had done to his previous victims such as Rachel and Kate. A prison guard then entered his cell with a needle in his hand that was to be used to give Jefferson a lethal injection. He was now ready for execution.

Frank and his dog Pompidou were being carried in a truck with other survivors being transported to Blackwell. Frank's RV had been badly damaged during the storm, but thanks to the money Chloe and Max had stolen from the office, it was enough insurance money to get his mobile home repaired. Frank managed to keep his favorite picture of him and his former girlfriend Rachel who he already missed as much as Chloe did. He held the picture in his hand and looked at it remembering the time he took that picture of him and Rachel. It was a moment with her he'd never forget.

Kate and her family; including her Mother, Father, and younger sisters were camped in one of the tents set up on the field and held hands in a circle sitting on the ground cress-crossed. Making a prayer to the lord who would help the family rebuild their hometown of Arcadia Bay that was destroyed by the unholy storm. So they may live under their own roof again.

Principal Wells stood on the hilltop behind Blackwell viewing what was left of Arcadia Bay. He could see the ruins from a very far distance as well as helicopters flying in the air patrolling the town. He had hoped to one day see the town back on it's feet again as well as seeing every student in Blackwell going to class on a routine daily basis again. Which he had hoped to be three months from now.

Back in Seattle, Max sat down on her bed in her bedroom surfing through her phone noticing she had a voicemail from a private number. She immediately knew who the message was from and played it.

 _"You have one new message. Message received Thursday at 9 PM."_

 _"Max, it's...it's Nathan. I just wanted to say...I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt Kate or Rachel or...didn't want to hurt anybody. Everybody used to me! Mr. Jefferson is coming for me now. All this shit will be over soon. Watch out, Max. He wants to hurt you next."_

This had been the same message she heard from Nathan crying on the phone after escaping the dark room. But there was more.

 _"But that's not all. That's nothing compared to what I'm about to tell you next. I don't care if you believe me or not. I've had these visions of a storm or something. There was a tornado closing in on the town and it was gonna kill us all! The storm is coming! I see all of you! You're all gonna die! Tell my Mom...my Dad...even my sister that I...I love them. I'll say hello to Rachel for Chloe if you don't mind. Goodbye, Max. I'm sorry. Forgive me. I'm so sorry!"_

 _"End of message."_

Max was flabbergasted at what she heard. As crazy as it had sounded, Nathan had seen the storm, too. But how she wondered. How? Max didn't feel like wondering how. Instead, she deleted the message lied down relaxed. Although, a little stressed for how bizarre of a day it had been for her. A storm and a wormhole looked worse than the tornado. What was going to come next? An earthquake? A meteor shower? Nonetheless, all that Max think about was all that mattered to her. All that she had sacrificed for her greater good. Chloe.

The picture of the butterfly spirit Max had taken that first day and tore back at the lighthouse lied on the streets of the ruined Arcadia Bay. Where the winds of the storm had blown it away. As the torn photo lied on the ground, someone approached it. Someone who caught a glimpse of it. Someone who took interest of it. Someone who now knew a time traveler was about.

Next time on Life is Strange...

 _Chrysalis vehicles were swarming the parking lot of Blackwell._

 _"There coming for you, Max. There coming for me, too."_

 _Chrysalis soldiers had stormed their way into the school prepared to apprehend the Blackwell time traveler as students screamed and panicked with armed men on campus. "Secure the building!"_

 _"And they won't stop ever, until they've captured you..."_

 _Chrysalis soldiers had breached their way into the girls dormitory. Closing in on their target. Ready to kick down the door of the time traveler's dorm. "Breaching! Breaching!"_

 _"...or they've killed you."_

 **End of Episode 1!**

 **Note:**

 **Prepare yourselves for episode 2 is about to get juicy! Now that I've made my final plot points in this episode, let me explain. First off, Chrysalis is a fictional corporation I came up with for the Life is Strange universe. It's basically a corps that researches time and space, let alone time travel. Like the Monarch corporation in Quantum Break. To be honest, I knew that game was another one about time bending and I ended up playing it and liking it's elements that I knew would inspire me to write in my story. At first, I sorta wanted to do a crossover fic and have Monarch hunting down Max, but decided to stick to my own little universe instead. BTW, chrysalis is a word referencing the butterfly effect as does the word monarch. Also, the new visions Max had was another plot point I wouldn't just want to give away. It's just another foreshadow like the storm in the first game.**

 **Now without giving away anything else spoiler worthy, there will be a little surprise character I'll be writing for the next episode and beyond. I want to thank Dontnod and Remedy for their inspiration and all my followers for your support! I've written some credits for the first episode with a voice cast including old and new voice actors I casts for some of the new characters. Which I'll do for every episode. Expect even more new characters I've developed for future episodes. Any character that speaks during the episode will be credited. Until next time, stay tuned for episode 2! Wish me luck!**

 **P.S. I decided to go with 'Youth' by Daughter for the ending soundtrack. Beautiful song to set a beautiful tone for Life is Strange since 'Obstacles' by Syd Matters.**

 **P.P.S. I wish I would've shared this with everyone earlier, but I won't wait another minute. There's a petition on to have Max and Chloe as the main characters for season two that's been posted for months now. If your interested, here's the link:** p/dontnod-entertainment-square-enix-life-is-strange-season-2-with-chloe-and-max

 **P.P.P.S. If you have any predictions or theories about what will happen on the next episode, feel free to write them in the reviews and let me know!**

 **Credits:**

 **Life is Strange After the Storm**

 **Episode 1: Resurgence**

 **Voice Cast**

 **Max Caulfield... ...Hannah Telle**

 **Chloe Price... ...Ashly Burch**

 **Warren Graham... ...Carlos Luna**

 **Victoria Chase... ...Dani Knights**

 **Nathan Prescott... ...Nik Shriner**

 **Ryan Caulfield... ...Adam Harrington**

 **Vanessa Caulfield... ...Misty Lee**

 **David Madsen... ...Don McManus**

 **Joyce Price... ...Cissy Jones**

 **Mark Jefferson... ...Derek Phillips**

 **Shadow Figure... ...Roger L. Jackson**

 **Written & Edited by**

 **WickDaLine**

 **Based on the Characters by**

 **Christian Devine**

 **Soundtrack**

 **Music composed by Jonathan Moralli**

 **'Mountain at My Gates' - Foals**

 **'Heroes' - David Bowie**

 **'Youth' - Daughter**

 **Special Thanks to**

 **Dontnod**

 **Square Enix**

 **Remedy**

 **Microsoft**

 **Michel Koch**

 **Sam Lake**

 **Christian Devine**

 **AjaxKnight**

 **AlphaOfAlphas**

 **and You!**

 **Disclaimer**

 **All trademarks and copyrights go to Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix. I do not own anything!**


End file.
